How to find the Milky Way

AccuWeather

Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is a sight to behold at night, but it  is visible only in the darkest parts of the world at certain times of year. Here's how you can find the Milky Way.

Transcript

00:00 (upbeat music)

00:02 The night sky teams with thousands upon thousands of stars.

00:09 From meteor showers to our home galaxy, the Milky Way,

00:13 stargazers love the magic of the night sky.

00:17 The Milky Way is home to every star you see at night,

00:20 but the galaxy itself is not always visible.

00:24 That's because most people live near a city

00:26 with light polluted skies.

00:29 Some people have never even seen the Milky Way.

00:32 To find the Milky Way, you'll have to travel

00:34 to a dark location away from city lights.

00:37 Let your eyes adjust to the dark for at least 30 minutes.

00:41 If you must use light, use a red filtered light

00:44 to protect your night vision.

00:46 The Milky Way's best feature is its galactic center,

00:50 which is congested with billions of stars.

00:53 It will appear like a stream of milk across the sky,

00:56 hence its name.

00:58 This region of our galaxy is visible in June,

01:01 July, and August when Earth's night side faces

01:05 the galactic center during its orbit around the sun.

01:08 In December, January, and February,

01:10 Earth's night side faces away from the galactic center,

01:14 out into deep space with only one

01:16 of its outer spiral arms visible.

01:19 For AccuWeather, I'm Christina Shalhoub.

01:21 (music)

Category

Transcript

Recommended