Milky Way Calendar — Astrophotography Planner
Planning a Milky Way session comes down to a handful of variables arriving at once: the Galactic Centre needs to be above the horizon, the moon needs to be out of the way, and ideally there's a decent window of darkness between those two things and the start of morning twilight. This free planner shows you exactly that — for any location, any month.
No sign-up, no account. Enter a location above and get a full month of nights, colour-coded by shooting quality. All calculations run in your browser; no data leaves your device.
How to read the calendar
Each row is a single night. The night bar has three horizontal lanes.
The top lane shows Milky Way and Galactic Centre visibility using three shades of green. Bright green means the GC is clearly above 10° altitude with no moon interference — the prime shooting window. Mid green means the GC is above the horizon but below 10°, or a moon-free portion of a longer window. Dark green means the GC is visible but the moon is above the horizon and interfering. No colour means the core is below the horizon entirely.
The middle lane shows sky darkness: a near-black strip of astronomical night with twilight gradients on each side. The bottom lane shows the moon — a gold bar when the moon is above the horizon, brighter when illumination is higher.
The rating icon on the left of each row summarises the night at a glance: ★ (best) means at least 2 hours of GC above 10° with low moon interference; ◑ (partial) means the Milky Way is visible but conditions are limited; ✗ (not visible) means the Galactic Centre is below the horizon during darkness, or a bright moon washes out the core.
The right-hand columns show moon phase and illumination percentage, the Milky Way window in hours with the GC-clear sub-window where applicable (e.g. "4h / 2h30m"), and the Galactic Centre's position label for the night.
Frequently Asked Questions
- When is Milky Way season?
- The Galactic Centre is visible in the night sky from roughly late February to early November in the northern hemisphere, with peak season running April through September. In the southern hemisphere it is visible for most of the year, with the best conditions from March to October. The core is highest in the sky around June–August at northern mid-latitudes.
- When does the galactic core rise and set?
- Rise and set times depend entirely on your latitude and the time of year. Use the planner above: enter your location and the calendar shows the Galactic Centre's window for every night of the month.
- What do the colours mean — bright green, mid green, dark green, gold?
- Bright green: the Galactic Centre is clearly above 10° altitude with no moon interference — the prime shooting window. Mid green: the GC is above the horizon but low (below 10°), or visible in a moon-free portion of a longer window. Dark green: the GC is visible but the moon is up and affecting contrast. Gold (bottom lane): the moon is above the horizon; brighter gold means higher illumination. Rows are also rated ★ best, ◑ partial, or ✗ not visible.
- What do "Arch" and "Vertical" mean in the GC position column?
- They describe how high the Galactic Centre climbs during the night's visible window, measured in degrees of altitude above the horizon — 0° is the horizon, 90° is straight overhead. "Arch (22°)" means the core stays low and sweeps across the sky in a shallow arc, peaking around 22°; this is typical at northern mid-latitudes and lends itself to landscape compositions with the core arching over the scene. "Vertical (75°)" means the core climbs high overhead — at least that altitude — which is typical closer to the equator and in the southern hemisphere, where it stands more upright. A range like "Arch (8°) - Vertical (85°)" means it spans from low to nearly overhead across the window. The small arc icon beside each row shows this at a glance: a flat curve for a low arch, a tall curve for a near-vertical pass.
- What's the best time of night to photograph the Milky Way?
- During astronomical darkness, with the Galactic Centre as high as possible above the horizon. In practice this is often between midnight and 3 am during peak season, though it shifts by location and month. The coloured bar on each row shows exactly which hours qualify.
- Do I still need to check the weather?
- Yes — this tool shows astronomical conditions only (moon phase, galactic core position, darkness windows). It has no weather data. Always check a dedicated sky forecast before heading out; Clear Outside and Meteoblue are both good options for astrophotographers.
