The Milky Way above Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park, California. The Milky Way, when observed from Earth's surface, is the hazy band of white light that is seen in the night sky, arching across the entire celestial sphere like a stripe across the sky (shown here as an arc in this panoramic picture). It consists of stars and other material lying within the galactic plane of our galaxy.Photo credit: Dan Duriscoe, National Park Service.