The Milky Way’s bright galactic center, home to a band of billions of stars, could still appear in the night sky across the US.
Time is running out to see the iconic band of stars that comprise the center of the Milky Way.
Our galaxy is positively teeming with billions of billions of stars that routinely become bright and vibrant in the cosmos at certain times of the year. And in the U.S., that time of year is rapidly coming to an end with the approach of the colder months.
But don’t worry: stargazers who find themselves in the right place at the right time just may still have a chance to glimpse the galaxy’s band of hazy light as it arcs across the night sky. The best part? You don’t need fancy telescopes or equipment to view it − just your eyes, dark skies and maybe a camera, if you’re into astral photography.
Here’s everything to know about our Milky Way, including how to see the stunning natural phenomenon.
What is the Milky Way galaxy?
The Milky Way is our home galaxy with a disc of stars that spans more than 100,000 light-years. Because it appears as a rotating disc curving out from a dense central region, the Milky Way is known as a spiral galaxy.
Our planet sits along one of the galaxy’s spiral arms, about halfway from the center, according to NASA.
The Milky Way sits in a cosmic neighborhood called the Local Group that includes more than 50 other galaxies. Those galaxies can be as “small” as a dwarf galaxy, with up to only a few billion stars, or as large as Andromeda, our nearest large galactic neighbor.
Why is it called the Milky Way?
The Milky Way got its name because from our perspective on Earth, it appears as a faint, milky band of light stretching across the sky.
When is Milky Way season?
Though the Milky Way is generally always visible from Earth, certain times of year are better for stargazers to catch a glimpse of the band of billions of stars.
“Milky Way season,” when the galaxy’s bright center becomes easier to see from Earth, typically runs from February to October, according to the Milky Way photography website Capture the Atlas.
But because visibility from Earth depends on the latitude, the further south you go, the longer the Milky Way season will last. In the Northern Hemisphere, which includes the continental United States, the best time to see the Milky Way is generally from March to September, according to Capture the Atlas.
What is the galactic center?
What you’re looking at when the Milky Way is visible is the bright center of our galaxy, “seen edge-on from our position within the galaxy’s disk,” Preston Dyches, who hosts NASA’s “What’s Up,” a monthly video series that describes what’s happening in the night sky, wrote in June for NASA.
Is the Milky Way still visible in September? Can I see it from US?
The center of the Milky Way, which Dyches refers to as “the core,” became visible in June and was expected to shine every night through August as it gets higher in a darker sky.
But just because we’re well into September doesn’t mean the Milky Way is no longer visible in the U.S. – just that it may be harder to spot. In fact, southern states nearer the equator may continue to have decent views of the Milky Way through late-September.
From September to October, the Milky Way is generally visible in the evening, according to Capture the Atlas. The galactic center will also increasingly appear at a vertical angle at the beginning of the night and decrease in the sky until reaching a horizontal position.
New moon phase ideal for Milky Way viewing
In fact, a new moon phase that begins Sunday, Sept. 21 means there will be less celestial light for the Milky Way to contend with in order to make itself widely visible. That makes the second-to-last week in September prime viewing for Milky Way fans, meteorologist Joe Rao wrote for Space.com.
“As soon as darkness falls, it becomes evident as a wide glowing arch of variety and beauty, stretching across the sky from the northeast to southwest,” Rao wrote.
How can you see the Milky Way? Here are some tips
Stargazers can observe the Milky Way by looking for the Summer Triangle, a shape formed by three bright stars that spans across the Milky Way, according to science news website LiveScience.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the Milky Way rises in the southeast, travels across the southern sky and sets in the southwest, according to Weather.com.
Spectators will have the best luck on cloud-free nights and away from city light pollution. DarkSky International maintains a website that lists all designated dark sky communities around the world, including 163 locations in the United States.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com