When can the Milky Way be seen?

Question

During what season of the year can the milky way be seen? [preferably URL please ^^]

Answer 1

Earth is located in the outer end of one of our Milky Way Galaxy's spiral arms.

This means if you go out - away from the bright city lights on a nice clear, dark night - preferably with no moon visible or during a "new moon" phase - you can look at the Milky Way from an amazing, "edge-on" viewpoint angle.

You will not need a telescope or binoculars unless you want to look at a particular individual star.

It appears as a thick stream of white stars from one end of the horizon to the other - just look for it...trust me, you will know it when you see it.

It can be seen any night of the year as long as you can get a clear, dark view..remember some of the stars are very faint because many are extremely far away...you are technically and literally looking into the past...billions of years backward in time (the time it takes for each star's light to reach us here on Earth) and billions of light-years in distance....good luck and good viewing.

Answer 2

Pretty good answers, some are mixed with confusion or might cause confusion.
Anytime you look up, you are looking into the Milky Way as that is the name of our galaxy, and that is what we see.
We are on the edge of an arm, and during the winter we are facing away from the center so there are not too many stars compared to the summer months.
During the summer months, look for the Summer Triangle, and you will see a wide band of "milky looking starslight". This is the concentration of the Milky Way Galaxy as you see it "edge on". It travels overhead I believe in the summer time and aroudn the horizon during the winter times. A very dark sky is needed to really appreciate its beauty.

Answer 3

We are paying the price for city light pollution. Our young people never see the sky properly. So many people are seeing Venus for the first time, as it is prominent at the moment, yet it is often prominent.

Before electric lighting, people had a much better idea of what was in the sky. The common knowledge of the sky has gone backwards with the modern age.

And now we get someone who has never seen the Milky Way.

That is sad. very sad.

Answer 4

Summer is the best time. But you need a dark sky. Any city, even a small one, will have so many outdoor lights that the sky will be too bright to see the Milky Way. You need to go to the country, far from city lights, where the sky is really dark.

Answer 5

we are in the Orion arm of the galaxy. During winter, the constellation of Orion, north and south is the plane of the galaxy but we are looking out of the edge so we don't see than many stars.

In summer, the plane of the galaxy runs through Perseus, Cygnus, and south to Scorpio and Sagittarius where the central core of the galaxy is. In summer, there is a quite bright band of stars running north-south.

Answer 6

It can be seen in the dark place in night time, and we could see Andromeda galaxy if we locate correctly. We also in the galaxy too.

Answer 7

Any time. Just find a dark sky. It goes all the way around, so you can see it all year.

Answer 8

You can see it best in the summer. But if you live in urban areas you won't see it. It's very faint. But if you get out away from urban lights and smog, you will see it easily.

Answer 9

WE R IN THE MILKY WAY u can see it everywere we are in it u can see it with ur eyes closed

Answer 10

At night.