Expert: Ed - 1/29/2009

Question
1. If we were at the center of our galaxy, I would like to know how far we can see out(stars)with only the naked eye. Please let me know in an approximate percentage. E.g.- You can see 10% of the way out from the center to the edge of the galaxy.

Thank you!

Answer
Serenity,

I'm not doing very well with your questions.  The center of the galaxy is still very mysterious, and we are still studying it.  Here is an article I found, reporting results from just a few months ago.  That's recent enough that it's still worth reading.
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/press/2008/pr200816.html

There is a lot of dust between the center of the galaxy and us, so anyone standing near the center of the galaxy couldn't see very far in our direction.  Maybe 20 percent of the way out?  That's just an educated guess.  But, maybe they can see farther in other directions.  I'm not sure.

I think it's safe to say that there is a fair amount of dust, and molecular clouds, obscuring the view along the plane of the galaxy.  But maybe someone at the center could see farther in more oblique directions...  okay, now I'm just repeating myself.  If you want to give me a couple more days, I will try contacting astronomers who study this area and wait for them to get back to me.  If you prefer to do it yourself, that's fine too.  I'm going to ask these guys:
http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~ghezgroup/gc/index.shtml

sorry I can't be more helpful.
--Ed