YozoraAtlas

When can you see the Milky Way in the Netherlands?

Nowhere in the Netherlands does the bright core of the Milky Way climb clear of the horizon haze while the sky is fully dark. It peaks at about 10° in Heerlen, Limburg, 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 the Netherlands is the Milky Way band brightest?

The band needs a dark sky more than anything. Each province 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
FrieslandSeptember to March0 of 3BoschplaatBortle 4
GroningenSeptember to March0 of 2Lauwersmeer National ParkBortle 4
DrentheSeptember to March0 of 5Drents-Friese Wold National ParkBortle 4
OverijsselSeptember to March0 of 8Sallandse Heuvelrug National ParkBortle 4
FlevolandSeptember to March0 of 3Nieuw Land National ParkBortle 4
GelderlandSeptember to March0 of 6Veluwezoom National ParkBortle 4
LimburgSeptember to March0 of 5De Maasduinen National ParkBortle 5
UtrechtSeptember to March0 of 4Utrechtse Heuvelrug National ParkBortle 5
North BrabantSeptember to March0 of 12De Groote Peel National ParkBortle 5
North HollandSeptember to March0 of 10Den HelderBortle 5

The darkest places in the Netherlands to see the Milky Way

  1. Boschplaat Friesland · Bortle 421.66
  2. Lauwersmeer National Park Groningen · Bortle 421.43
  3. Drents-Friese Wold National Park Drenthe · Bortle 421.21
  4. Dwingelderveld National Park Drenthe · Bortle 421.13
  5. De Alde Feanen National Park Friesland · Bortle 421.02
  6. Drentsche Aa National Park Drenthe · Bortle 420.91
  7. Sallandse Heuvelrug National Park Overijssel · Bortle 420.81
  8. Nieuw Land National Park Flevoland · Bortle 420.67
  9. Veluwezoom National Park Gelderland · Bortle 420.51
  10. Hoge Veluwe National Park Gelderland · Bortle 520.49

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

Which months have the longest dark nights in the Netherlands?

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 the Netherlands gets no full darkness at all.

6.4 hJan5.4 hFeb4.7 hMar3.0 hApr0.9 hMay0.0 hJun0.2 hJul2.1 hAug3.7 hSep5.1 hOct5.8 hNov6.4 hDec

How the Milky Way dates for the Netherlands 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