Galaxies, Stars, and Dust . ... Of course the brighter stars show diffraction spikes, the commonly seen effect of internal supports in reflecting telescopes , and lie well within our own Milky Way galaxy. The faint but pervasive clouds of interstellar dust ride above the galactic plane and dimly reflect the Milky Way's combined starlight . ... Seen almost edge-on near the center of the field, NGC 7497's own spiral arms and dust lanes echo the colors of the Milky Way's stars and dust . ...