Best Time to See the Milky Way + 2024 Milky Way Chart

Knowing the optimal time to view the Milky Way is key for scheduling Milky Way photography outings and increasing the chances of success in seeing and shooting our galaxy.

Generally speaking, the best time to observe the Milky Way is during the Milky Way season, which ranges from February to October, usually between 00:00 and 5:00, and on nights with a new moon. This, however, will vary depending on the hemisphere, your latitude, and other contributing elements like the moon phase.

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Throughout this article, we’ll delve into all the pertinent details to understand when represents the optimum time of the year to view the Milky Way in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, when is the ideal time of day, and when symbolizes the optimum time of the year to photograph the Milky Way according to its location in the sky.

However, initially, to swiftly examine at a glance the best times of the year to see the Milky Way, you can download our 2024 Milky Way Calendar according to your location. I’ll explain how this Milky Way chart works below.

• Milky Way season – When you can see the Milky Way
• Prime time to gaze upon the Milky Way in the Northern Hemisphere
• Best Period to View the Milky Way in the Southern Hemisphere
• Optimal time of night to view the Milky Way
• 2024 Milky Way Calendar
• Optimal time of year to photograph the Milky Way

Milky Way season – When can you see the Milky Way?

The Milky Way is visible all year round everywhere globally. However, “Milky Way season,” as it`s popularly termed, denotes the timeframe when the most spectacular region of our galaxy, the Galactic Center or “Galactic Bulge,” is visible in the celestial sphere.

You can still see our galaxy in the Milky Way off-season but bear in mind that, in this article, we’ll be discussing the optimal time to view the Milky Way when the Galactic Center is visible in the night sky.

You can view the Milky Way on clear nights with a new moon during the Milky Way season. However, when you can see the Milky Way depends on many factors, your latitude being the most important one, and what you should consider first.

*Note: You can check other key factors like light pollution in our article on the prime locations to view the Milky Way.

Below, you’ll find a breakdown of the optimum time to view the Milky Way on various latitudes and areas of our planet.

Best time to see the Milky Way in the Northern Hemisphere

As the majority of individuals reside in the Northern Hemisphere, these are some of the most frequented areas for viewing and photographing the Milky Way.

Generally, the best time to see the Milky Way in the Northern Hemisphere is from March to September, while the Milky way season goes from February to October.

This area of our planet comprises regions at very different latitudes, which is the primary factor to take into account when scheduling whento view the Milky Way. Therefore, the ideal time of the year to see the Milky Way in the UK is completely different from the best time to see the Milky Way in the Canary Islands, Spain (the further south one travels, the longer the Milky Way season).

Below, you’ll find the best time of year to see the Milky Way in the Northern Hemisphere depending on your location.

Best time to see the Milky Way in North America

The optimal time to view the Milky Way in North America depends on your latitude:

• In more southerly latitudes like the southern states of America or Mexico, the prime time of year to observe the Milky Way is from late March through late September, while sightings of the Milky Way extend from early February to late October.

• In higher latitudes like most of the contiguous states in the US, the best time to see the Milky Way is from late March to late August, while the Milky Way season goes from late February to early October.

• In Northern latitudes like Canada, the finest time to view the Milky Way is from Mid-March to Mid-May, whereas the Milky Way season extends from late February to late September with a break during the summer when there is no darkness.

Best time of year to see the Milky Way in the UK

The UK is positioned at a notably high latitude, so the timeframe for viewing the Milky Way is shorter compared to other regions in the Northern Hemisphere.

The prime time of the year to view the Milky Way in the UK is from mid-March to mid-May. However, the Milky Way can be visible for shorter periods through the UK Milky Way season from late February to late September.

Remember that, in high latitudes, there is no darkness during the summer, so you won’t be able to see the Milky Way in the UK during June and July.

When to see the Milky Way in Southern Europe

In Southern Europe, countries like Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece can be found, which usually offer the best locales to view the Milky Way in Europe, considering the extended Milky Way season.

• Small Venice: The western half of Mykonos City, with sunset dining areas, lively bars, and all-night shopping primarily housed in converted fishing homes from the 18th century.

Best time to see the Milky Way in the Southern Hemisphere

Golden Gate Park is a huge stretch of land on the western side of the city that stretches all the way to the ocean. On Sundays, they close the park to vehicular traffic, making it a walker’s paradise.

Broadly speaking, the best time of year to see the Milky Way in the Southern Hemisphere is from late February to late October, while the Milky Way season goes from late January to late November.

best time to see the milky way in Australia

Australia is one of the most popular places to see the Milky Way in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the best places in the world for Milky Way photography.

The optimal time of year to view the Milky Way in Australia extends from late February to late October. However, you can also photograph the galaxy during the Australian Milky Way season from late January to late November.

Best time of night to see the Milky Way

Once you are aware of the best time of the year, it’s time to examine which is the optimal time of day to view the Milky Way.

Generally, the optimal time period to view the Milky Way is between 12:00 midnight and 5:00 on nights when there is a new moon during the season in which the Milky Way is visible.

However, even if you arrange your session during the Milky Way season, there are other factors that require consideration which will be crucial to see the Milky Way, like the Milky Way visibility, the moon phase, and the sunrise/sunset.

Sunrise/Sunset

Darkness is the first key factor needed to see the Milky Way. This means that the prime time of day to see the Milky Way will always be in the timeframe between sunset and sunrise.

This doesn’t mean that as soon as the sun goes down, you can see the Milky Way with the naked eye. Even if it’s in the night sky, the Milky Way will be barely discernible during the blue hour transition period from day to night, so you’ll have to wait at least until astronomical twilight ends to see all the details of the Milky Way.

The sunrise and sunset times for a specific locality can be conveniently obtained via this link.

Moon Phase

The moonlight is the other key factor in finding the best time of night to see the Milky Way.

Verifying this is straightforward:

• Moon phase: While the moon can at times help brighten the landscape, an excessive amount of light radiating from the moon will notably decrease the visibility of the Milky Way. For me, if 30% or more of the illumination comes from the moon, usually it`s too bright to see the Milky Way.

• Moonrise/Moonset: Even though a full moon won`t impact your Milky Way visibility when below the horizon, checking the period when the light source from the moon rises and sets is crucial since its brightness can interfere.

You can check the moon`s phase in your location using a lunar map like this resource.

Milky Way visibility

If you’re trying to observe the Milky Way at night during periods with little or no moon visibility, another factor to consider is the visibility of the Milky Way. Similar to other astronomical phenomena, our galaxy can be seen for portions of the night sky which change depending on latitude and season.

In most areas of our planet:

• From the last two months of the year to January: The Galactic Center of the Milky Way is unable to be seen at all
• From February through June: The Milky Way is visible in the early morning hours.
• From July to August: The Milky Way is visible during the middle of the night
• From September through October: The Milky Way is visible during the evening

The ideal way to verify this is by utilizing an Milky Way software like Photopills, where you can see the optimum hours to view the Milky Way at night based on your time and place.

Milky Way calendar with the best days to see the Milky Way 

Planning Milky Way viewing can feel overwhelming, so I annually create calendars indicating the prime periods each year and location to observe the Milky Way based on understanding celestial movements.

In this upcoming Milky Way Calendar, you’ll find the following details:

• Milky Way hours
• Milky Way visibility
• Moon phase
• Moonrise and moonset
• Sunrise and sunset
• The tilt between the Milky Way and the point where the Earth`s surface meets the sky
• Best days to see the Milky Way in 2024

Below you can check a video to learn how to utilize our Milky Way Calendars:

As noted throughout the article, the ideal timeframe for seeing the Milky Way significantly relies on your particular location. Therefore, we routinely create Milky Way calendars tailored for 23 distinct regions around the globe, such as the United States, the UK, Canada, Australia, Europe, and so on.

You can access the 2024 Milky Way calendars for your location here :

Best time to photograph the Milky Way

If your scheme is to photograph the Milky Way, the critical factor whereas preparing the finest time to portray the Milky Way is the place of the Milky Way in the sky.

As mentioned earlier, the Milky Way core is visible during the Milky Way season. However, its location in the sky varies throughout the months and also depends on the specific location.

• In the Northern Hemisphere, the best time to photograph the Milky Way towards the southeast is at the beginning of the Milky way season (February to May). As the season progresses, the Milky Way will be visible in the Southern Skies (June to August), and finally towards the Southwest at the end of the Milky Way season (September to October).

• In the Southern Hemisphere, the optimal time to capture Milky Way photographs looking southeast and east is toward the beginning of the Milky Way season (February to April). Later in the season, the Milky Way is visible in the Northern Skies (May to July), and last toward the northwest and west at the end of the Milky Way season (July to November).

Also, the position of the Milky Way in the sky changes from season to season, which is critical to planning the best Milky Way compositions and to photographing Milky Way panoramas.

Using the typical Northern Hemisphere Milky way season as an example:

• In April and May, the Milky Way will be practically flat above the horizon, perfect for panoramas capturing the Milky Way arc.

• In the middle of June and July, the Milky Way will be horizontal higher up in the night sky, becoming more diagonal as the night progresses. This is generally the prime time to photograph the Milky Way in different layouts.

• In August and September, the Milky Way will be increasingly vertical, ideal for shots where you want to highlight an element against the Milky Way backdrop.

In contrast, the position of the Milky Way in the Southern Hemisphere will be different:

• From February to March, the Milky way will be at an angle with the galactic bulge closer to the horizon.

• From April to May, the Milky Way will be diagonal at the beginning of the night, and it’ll be higher in the sky with the galactic bulge moving towards the middle as the night progresses.

• From June to August, the Milky Way will be diagonal at the beginning of the night, upright during the middle of the night, and low above the horizon at the end of the night.

• From early September to late October, the Milky Way will be vertical at the start of the night and will lower in the sky until reaching a horizontal position.

If interested in learning and boosting your photography skills, I highly suggest checking my Milky Way photography course as well as our astrophotography workshops & tours!

Conclusion

Capturing our galaxy involves many difficulties, however one certainty remains: the key to witnessing and photographing the Milky Way, apart from the appropriate technique and Milky Way equipment, is superb planning.

Once you know the optimal places to see the Milky Way, knowing when to see the Milky Way is straightforward, as long as you comprehend the Milky Way season and how it varies relying on the time of the year and latitude.

Many online platforms and applications can be used to check the Milky Way visibility, moon phases, and sunrise/sunset times.

With these tools, you will be able to check the best time to view the Milky Way in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres depending on your location. But if you want to save time during your research, I strongly recommend downloading our Milky Way calendars, where you can see at a glance the best time of the year to see the Milky Way.

Happy captures and clear skies!