Here’s how to marvel at the Milky Way without a telescope until July 13

You’ve almost certainly seen pictures of the Milky Way, usually taken by photographers who travel to the middle of nowhere to take them. They are cosmically beautiful, colorful and timeless. Now, for a brief period, it is possible for you to catch a direct view of the Milky Way.

The Milky Way — no, not candy — is Earth’s home galaxy. NASA describes it as “a spiral galaxy with a disk of stars spanning more than 100,000 light-years,” and the space agency notes that Earth sits along one of the galaxy’s spiral arms, about halfway from the center. It takes our solar system about 240 million years to complete a single orbit of the Milky Way. Although we’re part of the Milky Way, we can sometimes see its central disk arching across the sky, looking like a “faint, milky band of light,” notes NASA.

Earth is in the proverbial action mass, meaning the Milky Way is visible between February and October, or most of the year. However, most of the US only has a chance to see it for a grand total of about a dozen days in four months, depending on one’s location.

The first two weeks of July are a prime time to catch a glimpse of our cosmic neighborhood. Once July 13th comes and goes, you’ll have to wait until early August to try again.

Spotting the Milky Way isn’t as rare as spotting solar eclipses or planet parades, but it’s definitely more difficult in most ways. Where eclipses and planet parades are quite visible from the backyard of anyone within the path of the event, the Milky Way is quite difficult to see from many populated parts of the US. In short, you might want to plan a road trip to the middle of nowhere to see it properly.

When can I see the Milky Way?

The exact dates vary from region to region, but the Milky Way should be visible across the US around the same set of days. In order to see the Milky Way, the sky must be dark enough. The best time to see it is five days before and five days after the new moon. The July New Moon occurs on the evening of July 5 and the morning of July 6, so that sets the range of dates to see the Milky Way. Once the moon reaches about 50% brightness, which happens on July 13, the Milky Way becomes much harder to see until the next new moon.

It will be visible for several days before and after the new moon, while the moon is at the end of its waning phase and the beginning of its waxing phase. So while July 6 is definitely the best day, you can see the Milky Way for about a week after that.

The Milky Way will also not be visible all night. There is only a three to six hour window when you will be able to see it. Again, this will vary depending on your location. Based on the region, here’s when the Milky Way can be best spotted. All times are local to that region, and these times are specifically for the evening of July 5th going into July 6th.

• Pacific Northwest: From 11.35pm to 2.55am (three hours and 20 minutes)

• West Coast: 10:17 pm to 4:06 am (five hours and 49 minutes)

• South-west: From 10.45pm to 4.25am (five hours and 42 minutes)

• Midwest: 10:32 pm to 3:37 am (five hours and five minutes)

• South: 10.13pm to 5.02am (six hours and 49 minutes)

• East Coast: From 22:54 to 03:35 (four hours and 41 minutes)

The further south and east you go, the more time you will have to see and photograph the Milky Way. People in those areas will also be able to see more of the Milky Way than people in more northern and western regions. But that said, almost everyone in the US will be able to see the Milky Way for at least three hours.

People on the West Coast and in the Southwest, Midwest, and South of the US will be able to see the Milky Way through July 13 without much problem for a similar amount of time each night at the same times. The start and end times and the total duration may vary by about half an hour.

Where can I see the Milky Way?

Almost the entire northern hemisphere will be able to see the Milky Way, provided they are in the right environment. The hard part is getting into that environment. Because this is a celestial event, much of the same logic and reasoning that applies to other astrological events applies here. The closer you are to cities and major light sources, the harder it will be to see anything.

To see the Milky Way, you’ll want to travel as far away from light pollution as possible. Light pollution describes the phenomenon where man-made lighting artificially increases the brightness of the night sky. Artificial light drowns out most celestial bodies that you can normally see with the naked eye. This is why the sky looks so much stronger in the middle of nowhere compared to inside a large metropolitan area.

LightPollutionMap.info has a fantastic map showing light pollution across the US. You’ll notice that areas like Nevada, Utah, and other states in that region have very low light pollution. This is why so many good photos of the Milky Way are taken in the desert. There are no lights there. Dark Site Finder also has some useful tools for finding a fairly dark spot in your general area.

Getting to higher altitudes also helps, although an elevation change of a few hundred feet won’t matter much. Going from sea level to a place like Arches National Park, Utah—which is over 5,000 feet in elevation—makes a pretty significant difference. According to NASA, traveling at higher altitudes means you’ll be above denser air and ground-level obstructions like fog, giving you an even clearer view of the sky.

So, in short, you’ll want to be in the darkest, highest place possible in your area to give yourself the best view of the Milky Way.

What will I need to see the Milky Way?

The Milky Way is easily visible without the use of a telescope or high-powered binoculars. But if you have them, magnifying devices will allow you to take a closer look at various points of interest. It’s a big galaxy, and there’s a lot to see if you want to take a closer look.

Your most important tools are darkness and height. Without them, you won’t be able to see the Milky Way at all. Put together a good camera with a tripod. Photos taken with longer exposures can capture more light than the human eye can see, and photos can be edited later to make them look really good.

Aspiring photographers looking to take a great shot of the Milky Way need to follow just a few general rules. You’ll want a fast lens. The lower the f-stop the better. From there, you’ll want a long exposure time, a sturdy tripod that won’t move, and plenty of patience to get the focus right, since the stars don’t offer cameras much contrast for autofocus to work. After that, it’s just a matter of dialing in your camera settings.

Mark your calendar for Milky Way viewing options

There are two good sources to use to find the best dates for views of the Milky Way. The first is any lunar calendar (Time and Date has one that’s relatively easy to read) to determine when a new moon will occur between February and November. The less light the moon gives off, the easier it is to see the sky around it.

Based on this data, the last days of July and the first week of August will be the next good opportunity to see the Milky Way. After that, it will be the last days of August and the first week of September.

Another useful tool is the Milky Way calendar. The website Capture the Atlas produces them each year and emails them for free to interested users. The website has an email registration form. Once you sign up, it emails a list of calendars based on latitude. From there, use Google Maps to determine your latitude and then use the Milky Way calendar closest to where you are.