Month
Location
Light Pollution (Bortle Scale)
Bortle 4: Rural/Suburban
Milky Way still impressive overhead
Milky Way still impressive overhead
Find your Bortle scale at lightpollutionmap.info
February Milky Way Visibility (Northern Hemisphere)
Galactic Center
Not Visible
Best Time
Not visible
Direction
SE
Altitude
Not visible
Brief window before sunrise, very low on horizon
Sky Map Preview
View from your location at peak viewing time. Orange dot = Galactic Core.
Conditions Summary
Check moon phase - new moon is ideal for Milky Way photography
Moderate light pollution - Milky Way visible but consider darker location
Galactic center not visible this month - only outer arms may be visible
Suggested Camera Settings
Aperture
f/2.8 or wider (f/1.4-2.0 ideal)
Shutter
21s or less (500/NPF rule)
ISO
1600-3200 (balance noise and light pollution)
Focal Length
14-24mm for wide Milky Way, 35-50mm for core detail
Milky Way Photography Tips
- 500/NPF Rule: Max shutter = 500 / (crop × focal length) to avoid star trails
- Focus: Use live view at 10× zoom on a bright star, manual focus to infinity
- White Balance: 3800-4200K or shoot RAW and adjust in post
- Composition: Include interesting foreground (silhouettes, reflections)
- Dark frames: Take dark frames for noise reduction in post
- Stacking: Consider shooting multiple frames to stack for cleaner results
Hemisphere Differences
- Southern Hemisphere: Best Milky Way views! The galactic core passes nearly overhead from locations like Australia, Chile, and South Africa
- Northern Hemisphere: Core never rises as high, best viewed low in the southern sky during summer months (June-August)
- Equatorial regions: Can see both hemispheres' views throughout the year
- Season: Northern summer = best for Northern Hemisphere, Southern summer = best for Southern Hemisphere