Why night skies are clearer in winter than during summer

AccuWeather

Although it's colder during winter, the night sky is more clear. One reason is because of less atmospheric interference. Another reason has to do with Earth's position in its orbit around the sun.

Transcript

00:00As the seasons change, you may have noticed the sky seems more clear during winter. Winter

00:11offers longer nights, while the air is drier and less dense. This causes less interference

00:16from Earth's atmosphere. The stars also appear brighter. That's because around the

00:22December solstice, Earth's night side is facing away from the galactic center of the

00:26Milky Way. The center of the Milky Way is a compact region full of billions of stars,

00:32which gives the sky a more hazy look. Near the June solstice, Earth's night side is

00:38facing the Milky Way's galactic center. While in December, Earth is facing one of

00:42the many outer spiral arms of our galaxy. There's technically less stars here, but

00:48they're closer to us, making them look a little more clear and sharp. At the same time,

00:53we're even looking beyond our galaxy's boundaries into deep space. Reporting for

00:58AccuWeather, I'm Jeff Cornish.

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