YozoraAtlas

When can you see the Milky Way in Germany?

Nowhere in Germany does the bright core of the Milky Way climb clear of the horizon haze while the sky is fully dark. It peaks at about 14° in Nagelfluhkette Nature Park, Bavaria, and that happens around midsummer, when the sun never gets 18° below the horizon. What you can see is the rest of the band, high overhead on dark nights. The longest moonless nights come from September to March.

Where in Germany is the Milky Way band brightest?

The band needs a dark sky more than anything. Each state with its longest moonless nights, how many of its places are Bortle 1 to 3, and its darkest place.

State or regionLongest dark nightsBortle 1 to 3Darkest place
Schleswig-HolsteinSeptember to March1 of 11PellwormBortle 3
Lower SaxonySeptember to March1 of 34SpiekeroogBortle 3
Mecklenburg-VorpommernSeptember to March0 of 13Müritz National ParkBortle 4
BrandenburgSeptember to March0 of 15the Kyritz-Ruppiner HeideBortle 4
BavariaSeptember to April0 of 35Bavarian Forest National ParkBortle 4
HesseSeptember to March0 of 16Hessian Rhön Nature ParkBortle 4
ThuringiaSeptember to March0 of 6Thuringian Forest Nature ParkBortle 4
Saxony-AnhaltSeptember to March0 of 6Harz/Saxony-Anhalt Nature ParkBortle 4
Baden-WürttembergSeptember to April0 of 29Southern Black Forest Nature ParkBortle 4
SaxonySeptember to March0 of 8Saxon Switzerland National ParkBortle 4

The darkest places in Germany to see the Milky Way

  1. Pellworm Schleswig-Holstein · Bortle 321.79
  2. Spiekeroog Lower Saxony · Bortle 321.70
  3. Müritz National Park Mecklenburg-Vorpommern · Bortle 421.68
  4. Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park Mecklenburg-Vorpommern · Bortle 421.68
  5. the Kyritz-Ruppiner Heide Brandenburg · Bortle 421.65
  6. the Nossentiner/Schwinzer Heide Mecklenburg-Vorpommern · Bortle 421.65
  7. Elbhöhen-Wendland Nature Park Lower Saxony · Bortle 421.63
  8. Mecklenburg Switzerland and Lake Kummerow Nature Park Mecklenburg-Vorpommern · Bortle 421.63
  9. Stechlin-Ruppiner Land Nature Park Brandenburg · Bortle 421.61
  10. Uckermark Lakes Nature Park Brandenburg · Bortle 421.60

Sky brightness overhead in mag/arcsec²: higher is darker, 21.95 is a natural sky.

Which months have the longest dark nights in Germany?

Hours per night with the sun more than 18° below the horizon and the moon down, for the median place in 2027. From May to July most of Germany gets no full darkness at all.

6.4 hJan5.4 hFeb4.7 hMar3.1 hApr1.1 hMay0.0 hJun0.2 hJul2.3 hAug3.7 hSep5.1 hOct5.9 hNov6.4 hDec

How the Milky Way dates for Germany are calculated

The positions of the sun, the moon and the center of the Milky Way are calculated for every night of 2027 at each place. A night counts when the core stands more than 10° above the horizon for at least an hour while the sun is more than 18° below the horizon and the moon has set. These are calculated positions; whether a night is clear is only known closer to the date. How it works