I agree that this takes it a bit too far, but it is possible to clearly see the milky way on a moonless light. You can't really see the details of the colours (

I agree that this takes it a bit too far, but it is possible to clearly see the milky way on a moonless light. You can't really see the details of the colours (you need a long exposure picture for that), but you can clearly make out light and dark patches and patterns (such as the milky way) in the sky. My parents live in a small village on the south coast of England, the nearest town is 15 miles away, so I saw it regularly when I was younger.