Question

This illustration shows the sky in an undeveloped area on a clear, dark night. What is the central glowing region that is brighter than the area around it?

1. The Milky Way galaxy
2. The gas giant planets
3. The asteroid belt
4. The Orion nebula

Answer 1

The central glowing region brighter than its surroundings in the night sky seen from undeveloped areas is the Milky Way galaxy. It is a band composed of the collective light from millions of stars in our galactic spiral arm.

Step-by-step explanation:

The central glowing region seen on a clear, dark night in undeveloped areas is actually the Milky Way galaxy. When you look up at the night sky away from city lights, the Milky Way manifests as a faint, milky band stretching across the sky, comprised of millions of stars that make up one of the spiral arms of our galaxy. It is particularly visible from places with little to no light pollution, like the Atacama Desert in Chile.

This panoramic photograph captures the essence of the Milky Way's grandeur. Moreover, the Orion Nebula, another celestial phenomenon that can be observed in the night sky, is a stellar nursery located about 1400 light-years away; however, it is not the central glowing region that is brighter than the surrounding area, which is the subject of the student's question. Unlike the broad luminosity of the Milky Way, the Orion Nebula appears as a concentrated area of gas and dust illuminated by young stars, offering us a small-scale example of cosmic creation.