Chasing the Milky Way

[the voyager]

Hi, new guy here.

I have been lucky enough to see the Milky Way 3 or 4 times in my life, all when I least expected it!

But now I want to try see it more during camping trips, and I am thinking of going up to the dark sky park in Northumberland National Park.

But obviously I know the earth rotates and spins and will not always be facing the splendour that is the Milky Way.

So is there a charr that can tell me when is the best nihgts to trip up to see it providing we have no skies?

Or is there a general rule to follow in order to see it?

[cotterless45]

This'll help,

http://skymaps.com/downloads.html

From a dark site the Milky Way will cut the sky in half at this time of the year. It should be the most obvious feature, milky and glowing,

Nick.

[the voyager]

Thanks. Lookd detailed.

I still can't work out what nights are best tho?

Or are all nights suitable? As in will the Milky Way be in view all nights?

[Charic]

the voyager........Hi, The darker the night  the better, and depending on weather and  the Moon, You will see the Milky Way haze overhead with your naked eyes. Its depicted on the map as the blue shaded area. The map is supposed to be held aloft ie overhead.  A direction  ie  North or East  around the maps circumference  should be  at the bottom of the map if you were looking at the map  like reading a book., then when held upside-down, everything should fall into place. The  Compass direction at the bottom, should match the direction your facing.  Find Polaris and your looking North. using binoculars will vastly increase the glory! Full instructions are on the map.

[dick_dangerous]

Basically the Milky Way vanishes in April / May when we're looking out of the galaxy. I've been to pristine dark skies in Pembrokeshire and Cornwall at that time of year and you can't see it because it girdles the horizon. Of course if you get up early enough in the morning then you would see it, but I'm not an early riser...

Late Summer / Autumn is a whole different matter. In a dark site, such as in Northumbria, if you go outside on a clear, moonless night and look up, you won't be able to miss it because you'll be looking right up into the brightest part of it. So for your camping trip be sure to pick a week when the moon isn't up and you won't miss it - providing the skies clear for long enough of course!

DD

[Pyrodave]

Hi Voyager try downloading stellarium its free, and will not only show the milky way but anything else thats up there   

[Stu]

As said, Autumn/winter is the best time to see it from a dark site. Mid to late August is my favourite time, I shall be camping in Dorset and the Milky Way always looks spectacular down there. My favourite part runs through Cygnus where you can see dark rifts in it too, lovely stuff

[Charic]

Talking of best nights.........Flo's  'Clear Outside'  is showing Green & Blue  for my area around midnight. Its looking good so-far outside, and after so many weeks, Ive gotta take a punt, so the scope is outside cooling now? Pity its not had time to awaken from its hibernation. I'll quickly check collimation once cooled with a  Barlowed  Laser, then hopefully check out  around Ursa Major and Cassiopeia, and still hoping there's   enough cloud cover  from East to South so as  not to washout my skies above with Moon glow!

[Charic]

.........Well not as expected, too many clouds, 'clear outside' was almost  right, but I should have gone out maybe a little earlier,  but the Moon looked great tonight. I managed some great steady views through and between the cloud  cover at over 300x. Pity there wasn't enough light through the clouds when I decided to try to take an afocal image. And following a Star test earlier, I've never seen my telescope looking so stable, with perfect concentric rings ( proving,  the longer you leave the telescope, until it reaches  equal ambient temperature, the better ). Plus having your telescope collimated properly.  Even tried Androids SKEYE App as a GoTo! for some fun. Pity the telescope is made of metal, plays havoc with the phones sensors, even at their lowest settings, so wont be using the GoTo unless I can shield the phone with some lead sheeting.I have some in my store, but its probably going to be too heavy, as its quite   thick, and I`d need a piece greater than the size of the phone? Not sure if its just a gimmick or will actually point you in the right direction. It's  also  possible the phone got a little confused  because I had wrapped it inside a re-sealable food bag, and taped that to the telescope.  Wasn't too happy with me touching the screen? At home, I can, if needed, pop inside the house to check on Stellarium, but away from home, I can see the advantage it may offer. Now to pack everything away before the Mrs needs the kitchen back in the morning?

[wuthton]

Don't forget the Moon!

The final week of the Month is the best time when the sky is Moonless.

So to be specific, Final week of August or September.

[the voyager]

So the 25th August (dark moon) will be the best time to go to try see the milky way?

[dick_dangerous]

It'd be a really good time, put it that way! A week either side of New Moon is the best time for anything that gets washed out easily...

DD

[Lowjiber]

I was at a Bortle 3 desert site last night before the Moon rose, and the Milkway was literally splitting the sky directly overhead.

[the voyager]

LOWJIBER: where is Bortle 3 desert site?