The Maiden Vein

One of the old names for what people mostly call the Milky Way in

English was the Maiden Vein. That's the name my own family's ancestors

would have called it. (Some people spelt it "Vane" because of the

idea that you could predict wind directions from it.)



This was near the NE end of the Maiden Vein last night, pictured by my

X100 camera sitting precariously on a deck rail and leaning back for

the 25- or 30-degree upward angle it needed for this shot. You can

see Andromeda down (and in) from the the upper right corner.