The Milky Way is a common spiral galaxy with a visible diameter of 100-200 thousand light years. It has 4 main spiral arms having 100-400 billion stars in each of them and our solar system is located in Orion’s arm. You can see the other side of the Milky Way even with unaided eyes. From around June to September, you can see the galaxy we live in quite easily.
Quick Guide to Observe the Milky Way
Make sure you have a stargazing app before anything else. Scorpius and Sagittarius are two well-known constellations that are close to the Milky Way. Track down any one of them. If you discover Scorpius, look to the left of it to see the Milky Way’s central region. Sagittarius is pouring tea toward the center of the Milky Way if you can find it. Center the scope in the finder and aim it at the Milky Way. However, telescopes with an aperture larger than 100 mm show stunning, high-contrast views of our galaxy. This may be seen with considerably greater clarity and detail at a 50x magnification.
For a start, make sure that you have a stargazing app.
Try to find out about the North star Polaris. You can use an astronomy app like GoSkyWatch Planetarium on iOS, SkyView Lite both on iOS and Android, Starlight on Android, and so on.
How to find the Milky Way?
- There are two well-known constellations near the Milky Way named Scorpius and Sagittarius. Find any one of them.
- If you find Scorpius, look to the left of it and you will get the core of the Milky Way.
- If you find Sagittarius, you will find that it is pouring tea toward the core of the Milky Way.
- Point the scope towards the Milky Way and center it in the finder.
What is the best time to observe the Milky Way?
The Milky Way is visible on dark nights throughout the year. The best time to view it is an entirely moonless night which provides the darkest sky. So the viewing window is too short.
If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, you will find eight constellations —Sagittarius, Aquila, Scorpius, Cassiopeia, Cygnus, Perseus, Auriga, and Gemini. During summer from around June to September, you will see the brightest sections and core of the Milky Way. Look for it as soon as darkness falls. It will be visible parallel to the east-southeast horizon after sunset. As the night progresses, it transits vertically overhead towards the west-southwest.
If you are in the southern hemisphere, the best time of the year to see the Milky Way is September to March.
Moreover, the best time to see the Milky Way is the darkest night. Try to find a clear sky and observe it immediately after dawn or before dusk. The duration is longer in winter.
What is the best place to observe the Milky Way?
According to the International Dark-Sky Association, there are 15 dark sky locations in the USA:
- Zion National Park, Utah
- Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania
- Big Bend National Park, Texas
- Joshua Tree National Park, California
- Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
- Death· Valley National Park, California/Nevada (use extreme caution due to the intense· heat)
- Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah
- Great Basin National Park, Nevada
- Bryce Canyon National Parks, Utah
- Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
- Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
- Acadia National Park, Maine
- Florida Keys, Florida
- Badlands National Park, South Dakota
- Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii
- Ft. Davis, Texas
2 Tips to observe the Milky Way in the best way.
- Choose a time when the sky is the darkest. The best time is the New moon when the moon is not visible in the sky.
- Check the weather forecast whether the sky will be clear or not.
What can you see on the Milky Way with a telescope?
- The galactic arc: Sometimes the Milky Way looks like an arc in the sky. This was best seen in Autumn. Try to find a really dark location to get the amazing structure and high-contrast view.
- Sagittarius: This constellation can be quite low to the horizon from the northern hemisphere, but still can show our Galaxy at its brightest at its center on dark nights.
- Cygnus: In this constellation, we will see the gas and dust obscuring the bright stars within the Milky Way.
- Perseus and Cassiopeia: The bright double cluster in Perseus are visible in the diverse area of the Milky Way.
- M8, The Lagoon Nebula: This nebula can be seen as a bright patch in the star-rich area of the Milky Way. It is best seen in July and August.
- M35 in Gemini: M35 & NGC 2158 open clusters are best seen from January to March, showing more than 200 stars.
- NGC 7000, North America Nebula: This can be seen from September to December in the constellation of Sygnus.
- M27, The Dumbbell Nebula: It appears as a glowing misty oval shape with a part of the milky Way in its background. It is best seen from September to November in the constellation Vulpecula.
- Beta Cygni, Albireo: The double stars Albireo A (golden) and Albireo B (blue) are hard to separate. However, they are best seen from September to November in the galactic field of faint stars.
- M17, The Omega Nebula: This glowing Nebula is best seen in August and September in the constellation of Sagittarius.
- M16, the Eagle Nebula: It appears in the constellation of Serpens as a fine cloud and gas.
What telescope to see the Milky Way?
Celestron StarSense Explorer LT 114AZ, Orion SpaceProbe 130ST, and Celestron Advanced VX8 are great telescopes to see the Milky Way. A list of telescopes to see the Milky Way has more telescope options that can see the Milky Way very clearly.
What size telescope to see the Milky Way?
The Milky Way is visible with any size telescope. But telescopes with more than 100 mm aperture reveal great high-contrast views of our galaxy.
What magnification is required to see the Milky Way?
You can use any magnification limit available in your telescope to view the Milky Way galaxy. However, a 50x magnification will show much more details and sharp views of this.
Enjoying the Milky Way? Here are other things to see with your telescope.
Our own galaxy Milky Way appears with its wonderful bright starry hands in the telescopes. With the same telescope, you can enjoy the views of Andromeda, the Lagoon, Orion and so many other nebulae. Moreover, you can see all the planets of our solar system including the Sun and our Moon. Meteor showers, asteroids, and comets also appear with amazing views with a telescope. ‘List of things to see with a telescope’ enlists many night sky objects that you can observe in the night sky with your telescope with further guidelines.