Take an interstellar tour: what would you see if you could travel around our galaxy?

An imaginary starship trip beyond the solar system to the edge of the Milky Way offers new perspectives on the wonders of space

Astronomy and cosmology can feel detached from everyday reality. But what if we could take a 23rd-century starship tour through the Milky Way and experience the cosmos like an Earth-bound tourist visiting exotic destinations? What would we see from our window?

Although physicists enjoy speculating about warp drives, or using wormholes to jump between locations, there is no way to travel faster than light at present. So we're assuming a fictional ability to do this - but beyond that, everything we will encounter on our voyage is based on best current theories.