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(Image: ESO/H. H. Heyer) Download a free high-resolution printable poster of this image

Read more: 鈥�The night: The nocturnal journey of body and mind鈥�

ASTRONOMERS like to talk about when and Los Angeles. Citizens are bemused and delighted at the spectacle above their heads. Some call the emergency services to report smoke in the night sky. Others, that aliens are behind the strange lights. They are, in fact, glimpsing something that fewer and fewer of us can see 鈥� the Milky Way. The 360-degree panorama above shows the Milky Way arching across the sky above the in Chile.

You don鈥檛 need a telescope to see the universe鈥檚 wonders. For your best view, wait for a clear, moonless night and head to the countryside. Better still, visit a , which give exceptional quality views of starry skies. There, thousands of stars will be visible to the naked eye. Exactly what you can see depends on where you are and the time of year. Earth鈥檚 neighbouring planet, Venus, is easy to spot because it is so much brighter than anything else. Mars, Jupiter and Saturn shine brightly too. And given the right time and conditions, so does elusive Mercury.

Of the thousands of artificial satellites that orbit Earth, . Among them are the and China鈥檚 space station Tiangong 1. Flashes streaking across the sky are the Iridium communication satellites, whose highly polished solar panels reflect sunlight.

In the image above, the bright white glow on the horizon is the zodiacal light. It comes from dust in the solar system scattering light from the sun, and its triangular shape has led to it being mistaken for headlights from an alien craft. Beyond our Milky Way lie other galaxies.

鈥淭he triangular white glow has been mistaken for the headlights of an alien craft鈥�

Extreme close up: the Large Magellanic Cloud revealed by the Hubble Space Telescope (Image: NASA/ESA/Hubble Space Telescope)

Two of our galactic neighbours, the Small and Large Magellanic Clouds, appear as smudges below the rightmost curve of the Milky Way鈥檚 arc, just above the horizon. These dwarf galaxies are only visible from the southern hemisphere. Just out of sight below the horizon is the Andromeda galaxy, 2.5 million light years away. Best seen from the northern hemisphere, it is the most distant object that can be seen with the naked eye. Andromeda and the Milky Way are rushing headlong towards each other. In 5 billion years, they will crash and merge to form Milkomeda.

Of the stars visible to the naked eye, . One of them, Tau Ceti, is orbited by a potentially habitable world. As you look up at the sky, wondering if it has life, a Tau Cetian may be doing the very same.

This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淪ky haul鈥�