system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How much do we know about the other side of the of the Milky Way?

Most maps of the observable universe that I 've seen have a large blank spot that, from what I understand, is caused by our inability to "see through" the gas, dust, etc. in the galactic plane.  Are there any objects or phenomena that we could observe that are located in this portion of the sky? (opposite side of the Milky Way of course) 

For example, could there be a galaxy just as large as Andromeda, <100,000 ly away from the opposite edge of the Milky Way? Could we be in the initial stages of a galactic merger and simply not know?
gpt
You are correct in saying that we cannot 'see' through the center of the milky way.  As you hinted at, there is a large amount of dust in the galactic plane which blocks light that we would describe as being in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.  However, it is possible to peer through this dust using different wavelengths of the spectrum.  One such wavelength is simply radio waves.  Using radio telescopes, astronomers are able to get past the dust and observe objects in the center of the galaxy and beyond.

Now, observing things on the far end of the galaxy can certainly be difficult, as there are a great number of radiation sources in the way.  However, making use of radio waves and other wavelengths, such as x-rays, would surely allow us to observe something as high in radiation as an entire galaxy.