SKY · MILKY WAY · USA
Can You See the Milky Way from New York?
Good news for New York: tonight the galactic core climbs to about 19° above the southern horizon in a dark sky. With dark skies and no Moon, the bright heart of the Milky Way is on show.
Core altitude computed for New York (40.7°, -74.0°) during tonight's dark hours.
Milky Way season & the Moon for New York
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 New York.
New York right now
A dark, cloudless sky is everything for the Milky Way — a quick check of tonight's cloud cover for New Yorktells you whether it's worth the trip out of town.
More sky over New York
SEE IT ON THE MAP
The live sky map shows the day/night line over New York in real time.