When can you see the Milky Way in the UK?
Only faintly. It is fully dark from 20:01 to 05:45, but the Moon is 53% lit and washes out the Milky Way while it is up. Wait for a moonless window below.
- Fully dark tonight (central Britain)20:01 to 05:45
- Moon tonight53% lit
- Next moonless window4 Nov to 13 Nov
- Galactic core season7 Mar to 12 May and 4 Aug to 11 Sep
Times are UK time (BST). "Fully dark" means astronomical darkness: the Sun 18° or more below the horizon. Moonless means the Moon 25% lit or less.
Best nights for the Milky Way: the next moonless windows
The Milky Way needs three things: a fully dark sky, no Moon, and no clouds or street lights. These are the coming runs of nights with full darkness and a Moon 25% lit or less. Check the forecast on the night.
4 Nov to 13 Nov
Moon 25% lit or less. Fully dark in central Britain from about 18:28 to 05:14.
3 Dec to 13 Dec
Moon 25% lit or less. Fully dark in central Britain from about 17:59 to 05:55.
2 Jan to 12 Jan
Moon 25% lit or less. Fully dark in central Britain from about 18:09 to 06:12.
1 Feb to 10 Feb
Moon 25% lit or less. Fully dark in central Britain from about 18:50 to 05:49.
When does true darkness end and return?
Around midsummer the Sun never gets 18° below the horizon in most of the UK, so the sky keeps a glow all night and the Milky Way fades. The further north you are, the longer this lasts. In Shetland it hardly gets dark at all in June.
| Place | Latitude | No full darkness | Fully dark tonight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plymouth | 50.4° N | 28 May to 14 Jul | 20:07 to 05:57 |
| Brecon (Bannau Brycheiniog) | 51.9° N | 20 May to 22 Jul | 20:06 to 05:53 |
| London | 51.5° N | 22 May to 20 Jul | 19:52 to 05:40 |
| Edale (Peak District) | 53.4° N | 13 May to 29 Jul | 20:01 to 05:45 |
| Keswick (Lake District) | 54.6° N | 9 May to 3 Aug | 20:07 to 05:49 |
| Kielder (Northumberland Dark Sky Park) | 55.2° N | 6 May to 5 Aug | 20:06 to 05:46 |
| Belfast | 54.6° N | 9 May to 3 Aug | 20:18 to 06:00 |
| Newton Stewart (Galloway Dark Sky Park) | 55.0° N | 7 May to 4 Aug | 20:13 to 05:54 |
| Edinburgh | 56.0° N | 4 May to 8 Aug | 20:09 to 05:48 |
| Aviemore (Cairngorms) | 57.2° N | 30 Apr to 12 Aug | 20:13 to 05:49 |
| Portree (Skye) | 57.4° N | 29 Apr to 13 Aug | 20:23 to 05:58 |
| Lerwick (Shetland) | 60.2° N | 20 Apr to 21 Aug | 20:07 to 05:34 |
When can you see the galactic core from the UK?
The bright centre of the Milky Way, in Sagittarius, is the part in most photographs. From the UK it stays very low in the south: it gets no higher than 90° minus your latitude minus 29°, so a few degrees at best. You need a flat southern horizon, full darkness and no Moon. These are the dates it stands at least 3° up while the sky is fully dark, enough to clear a sea or moorland horizon.
| Place | Highest the core gets | Core in full darkness | Moonless core nights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plymouth | 10.6° | 16 Feb to 27 May · 15 Jul to 10 Oct | 2 Mar to 12 Mar · 1 Apr to 10 Apr · 1 May to 10 May · 28 Jul to 5 Aug · 27 Aug to 4 Sep · 25 Sep to 3 Oct |
| Brecon (Bannau Brycheiniog) | 9° | 24 Feb to 19 May · 24 Jul to 29 Sep | 2 Mar to 12 Mar · 1 Apr to 10 Apr · 1 May to 10 May · 28 Jul to 5 Aug · 27 Aug to 4 Sep · 25 Sep to 29 Sep |
| London | 9.5° | 24 Feb to 21 May · 21 Jul to 3 Oct | 2 Mar to 12 Mar · 1 Apr to 10 Apr · 1 May to 10 May · 28 Jul to 5 Aug · 27 Aug to 4 Sep · 25 Sep to 3 Oct |
| Edale (Peak District) | 7.6° | 7 Mar to 12 May · 4 Aug to 11 Sep | 7 Mar to 12 Mar · 1 Apr to 10 Apr · 1 May to 10 May · 4 Aug to 5 Aug · 27 Aug to 4 Sep |
| Keswick (Lake District) | 6.4° | 29 Mar to 28 Apr | 1 Apr to 10 Apr |
| Kielder (Northumberland Dark Sky Park) | 5.8° | Not in full darkness | — |
| Belfast | 6.4° | 29 Mar to 28 Apr | 1 Apr to 10 Apr |
| Newton Stewart (Galloway Dark Sky Park) | 6° | 10 Apr to 17 Apr | 10 Apr |
| Edinburgh | 5° | Not in full darkness | — |
| Aviemore (Cairngorms) | 3.8° | Not in full darkness | — |
| Portree (Skye) | 3.6° | Not in full darkness | — |
| Lerwick (Shetland) | 0.8° | Never 3° up | — |
Outside core season the Milky Way is still there. On dark autumn and winter nights its fainter band arches overhead through Cassiopeia, Cygnus and Perseus, and from a dark site with no Moon it is easy to see.
How to see the Milky Way
Get away from towns: even a small village's lights hide it. The UK's Dark Sky Parks and Reserves are the surest places, and many hill car parks are dark enough. Give your eyes 20 to 30 minutes and keep your phone off, or use a red light. Look up and slightly south for the core in summer, or straight up on autumn and winter nights.
Questions
Can you see the Milky Way tonight in the UK?
Only faintly. It is fully dark from 20:01 to 05:45, but the Moon is 53% lit and washes out the Milky Way while it is up. Wait for a moonless window below.
When is Milky Way season in the UK?
The bright galactic core, low in the south, is in the dark sky from about 7 Mar to 12 May and 4 Aug to 11 Sep from central England (before dawn in spring, after dusk in late summer; midsummer nights are too light), best on moonless nights. The fainter band of the Milky Way is overhead on dark autumn and winter nights, running from Cassiopeia through Cygnus, and you can see it all year from a dark site when the Moon is down.
When does it get dark again in Scotland?
True (astronomical) darkness disappears around midsummer: Edinburgh: no full darkness from 4 May to 8 Aug; Aviemore: no full darkness from 30 Apr to 12 Aug; Lerwick: no full darkness from 20 Apr to 21 Aug.
Where is the best place to see the Milky Way in the UK?
An International Dark Sky Park or Reserve with a clear view south: Galloway Forest, Northumberland and Kielder, Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons), Eryri (Snowdonia), Exmoor, the South Downs, Cranborne Chase, the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors, and Moore's Reserve. For the galactic core, further south is better: it never rises more than about 10.6° above the horizon from Plymouth, and barely clears the horizon in northern Scotland.
Do I need a telescope?
No. The Milky Way is a naked-eye sight: give your eyes 20 to 30 minutes in the dark, with no phone screen. A camera on a tripod with a 15 to 25 second exposure at a high ISO shows far more than your eyes can.
More for the night sky: ISS tonight · meteor shower tonight · full moons · aurora forecast · dark sky calendar.