'Milky Way season' is underway. How, when to see center of our galaxy
'Milky Way season' is underway. How, when to see center of our galaxy
Eric Lagatta, USA TODAYThu, March 5, 2026 at 1:24 PM UTC
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Get ready, stargazers: The Milky Way could be coming to a sky near you.
Our galaxy is positively teeming with billions of stars that become bright and vibrant in the cosmos at certain times of the year. And in the U.S., that time of year, known as "Milky Way season," is just now beginning.
For the next several months, the iconic band of hazy light should routinely be visible across the northern hemisphere arcing 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?
This illustration shows the Milky Way, our home 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 resides 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?
The Milky Way graces the sky in July 2010 over the Gerle Creek Reservoir in the El Droado National Forest in Sierra Nevada.
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.
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The center of the Milky Way, which Dyches refers to as "the core," is best visible beginning in June across the Northern Hemisphere, when it's "visible as a faint band of hazy light arching across the sky all night."
But just because it's March doesn't mean the Milky Way isn't yet visible in the U.S. – just that it may be trickier to spot. In fact, those opportunities to spot the Milky Way's center may pick up toward the end of March.
What time of night is the Milky Way visible?
The Milky Way is generally visible from sunset to sunrise, or when it's darkest outside, according to Capture the Atlas,
Typically, the sky is darkest from about midnight to 5 a.m. You can check sunrise and sunset times at your location using the website TimeAndDate.
"This doesn’t mean that as soon as the sun goes down you can see the Milky Way," writes Dan Zafra, co-founder of Capture the Atlas. "Even if it’s in the sky, the Milky Way will be barely visible during blue hour, so you’ll have to wait at least until the end of the astronomical twilight to see all the details of the Milky Way."
But the time of year can also influence when people have the greatest chances of seeing the Milky Way at its best. And between February and June, the Milky Way is best seen in the early morning.
New moon phase ideal for Milky Way viewing
While the moon can help illuminate the landscape, too much light coming from Earth's natural satellite will drastically reduce the Milky Way's visibility, according to Capture the Atlas.
As of March 5, the moon is more than 90% full and in a waning gibbous phase following a full moon, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac. That means the moon is beginning its journey back toward the sun, still mostly illuminated as it decreases in size from Earth's vantage and rises later and later each night, NASA explains.
A new moon phase will begin Wednesday, March 18 – meaning a few days before then and into late March, there will be far less celestial light for the Milky Way to contend with in order to make itself widely visible.
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 at dark sky locations 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 171 locations in the United States.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Milky Way visible from Earth? How to spot our galaxy in March
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