SKY · MILKY WAY · USA
Can You See the Milky Way from Los Angeles?
From Los Angeles tonight the galactic core only reaches about 6° — low over the south-eastern horizon. You may glimpse it from a dark site with a clear southern view, but it's not at its best.
Core altitude computed for Los Angeles (34.1°, -118.2°) during tonight's dark hours.
Milky Way season & the Moon for Los Angeles
A bright Moon (49% lit) will wash out faint stars and the Milky Way tonight.
The Milky Way is faint and easily lost to light pollution and moonlight. Even when the core is high, you need a genuinely dark sky — well away from city lights — and ideally a night near the new Moon to see it well from Los Angeles.
Los Angeles right now
A dark, cloudless sky is everything for the Milky Way — a quick check of tonight's cloud cover for Los Angelestells you whether it's worth the trip out of town.
More sky over Los Angeles
SEE IT ON THE MAP
The live sky map shows the day/night line over Los Angeles in real time.