[ATMoB-discuss] Visible dust lanes in Milky Way?

[valleli at rcn.com]

Jesse,
Adding to what others have already commented on your Milky Way observation, I was also stargazing from Meredith Neck, NH on Wed. night and also noted an unusually clear night.
The largest, darkest section in the region of Cygnus and east of Aquila is unofficially known by galactic astronomers as "The Great Rift". George Lucas must have picked up on this for Star Wars. 
I have been observing from this area for many years but get discouraged by the light domes over the Weirs and Gunstock areas. They were there, but not as bright as usual.
Luckily I had my Dark Sky Meter with me and took some readings. Under thick evergreens it was 23.00, the same as a photographic darkroom. Out on the dock it was 21.46 away from the Milky Way, and 21.06 directly at it, slightly to the East of the zenith. 
The best readings at Stellafane, VT have been numerous at around 22.45 and about the same at the Winter Star Party in the Florida Keys. 
The units are a logarithmic scale in units of stellar magnitude per square arc-second. They can be converted to Candelas using a light calculator on the Dark Sky Meter web site. For comparison, a brightly lit parking lot can be about 10.00 to 15.00.
Paul