I'd never seen the Milky Way before we moved here. I didn't know you you could see it. Other than the chocolate bar, of course. But since LA bought me a telescope, I've read a little about what's up there, and realized that that pale strip of cloud that runs from horizon to horizon is not a cloud at all but the Milky Way. Our own home galaxy stretching out across space. You don't need a telescope to see it. In fact you can't see it with a telescope. Just look up on a clear dark night and there it is. This is looking straight up with a moderate wide angle lens. Up amongst all those stars is the constellation Cassiopeia and the Andromeda Galaxy 2.5 million light years away.

More info here