What time of the year is the Milky Way visible?

Let’s start this by correcting a common misconception:

There is no “Milky Way Season”. The Milky Way is visible all year long!

Our Solar system and with it our home planet Earth, is part of the Milky Way Galaxy. This means that we are surrounded by the Milky Way. Actually, all stars we can see are part of the Milky Way. Of course, that’s not the point here, as we are talking about the Milky Way band, which is the main galactic plane of our home galaxy.

Position of the Sun in the Milky Way Galaxy. Image courtesy to NASA.

During daytime, the sky is too bright for us to see the stars and as Earth circles around the sun, different parts of the Milky Way plane are hidden behind the sun throughout the year.

At summer solistice in June, we are positioned between the sun and the galactic center. That’s when the Milky Way core section is then visible throughout the entire night. Earlier in the year (February – May), the core section is rising towards the morning, while it sets in the evening from August to October.

At winter solistice in December, the Sun is positioned between the galactic center and Earth. From November to January, the galactic core is therefore hidden in the bright glare of the day, but now the Perseaus Arm of our Galaxy is up all night. As we are now looking towards the edge of our galaxy, the Milky Way band is much dimmer than the core section, but it is still visible from a dark sky location. Furthermore, this is also when the constellation Orion is dominating the sky.

Around Spring Equinox, Orion is visible in the evening and while the Milky Way core above horizon in the early morning hours. At Fall Equinox it is vice-versa.

Position of Earth relative to the Milky Way Center and the Sun throughout the year.
Image courtesy to physicsforum.com

How the Milky Way Presents Itself Throughtot the Year

The view of the Milky Way, as seen from Earth, changes constantly with local time and the seasons. The lattitude is another determining factor for how the sky looks. While the core is visibile during the same months in both hemispheres, the sky looks completely different when viewed from the southern hemisphere compared to mid-northern lattidudes.

The examples below are valid for mid-northern lattitudes:

SPRING (February – April)