Technology

The Milky Way may be closer than you think. I had never really seen it until a few years ago. I was in my usual darker spot and took a picture of it with my phone's astro mode. I looked back up and suddenly, there it was. I just never knew what to look for or, more importantly, just how big the visible structure was.

I recommend taking a look at lightpollutionmap.info and seeing what's around you. I'm in a major city metro but dark-enough skies are less than 2 hours away. The Milky way revelation was in a "Bortle 5" zone (red on the map). Cities are class 8+, oceans/uninhabited is class 1. Constellations help you find the core (namely the tea pot/milk dipper asterism) and knowing what time of year/night to look is important. August is the usual ~10pm month but you can go out later at night earlier in the year and vice versa from about April (close to sunrise) to October (near sunset).

Be aware you need to adapt your eyes. Pupils dilate in seconds but the 20 minute thing comes from replenishing rhodopsin in your eyes. White/blue/purple light bleaches that compound but red doesn't. With enough commitment and knowledge at that same place, Andromeda becomes a naked eye object for me. Extremely faint and just a smudge, but unmistakable.