SKY · MILKY WAY · CHINA

Can You See the Milky Way from Shanghai?

Good news for Shanghai: tonight the galactic core climbs to about 30° above the southern horizon in a dark sky. With dark skies and no Moon, the bright heart of the Milky Way is on show.

GALACTIC CORE TONIGHT · SHANGHAI
VerdictExcellent — core rides high
Core height30° up
Look towardsouthern sky
Best by12:05 AM
MoonWaxing Crescent · 6%

Core altitude computed for Shanghai (31.2°, 121.5°) during tonight's dark hours.

Milky Way season & the Moon for Shanghai

Core season hereRoughly May to July, best around June.
Dark by8:05 PM
Until4:50 AM

The Moon is nearly out of the way — dark skies for faint objects.

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 Shanghai.

Shanghai right now

A dark, cloudless sky is everything for the Milky Way — a quick check of tonight's cloud cover for Shanghaitells you whether it's worth the trip out of town.

More sky over Shanghai

SEE IT ON THE MAP

The live sky map shows the day/night line over Shanghai in real time.

Open the live sky map →