Some authors use the term Milky Way to refer exclusively to the band of light that the galaxy forms in the night sky, while the galaxy receives the full name Milky Way Galaxy.

Explore the night sky and zoom in to see cosmic objects with Hubble's-eye-view. Roam the Milky Way and find galaxies, stars, nebulae and more in the full skymap or the Messier and Caldwell catalogs.

Want to see the Milky Way from Earth? Learn the best time of year, where to go, and how to experience the galaxy in all its glory.

What is the Milky Way galaxy? Find out where Earth is located in it, what lies at its center, and how to see the Milky Way from Earth.

Orion's seven brightest stars form a distinctive hourglass -shaped asterism, or pattern, in the night sky. Four stars— Rigel, Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, and Saiph —form a large roughly rectangular shape, at the center of which lie the three stars of Orion's Belt — Alnitak, Alnilam, and Mintaka.

In this article, we’ll be sharing with you everything you need to know about the constellation of Orion, including how to find it, deep space objects contained within it, and how to use it to find other night sky objects more easily.

Learn about Orion constellation, its notable deep sky objects, and when and where to see it in the night sky.

Astronomical data for the Orion constellation: sky charts, bright stars, deep sky objects, real-time visibility, rise and set times.

With only one exception, people who gaze into the night sky see a still-life scene. The one exception is when a streaking meteor suddenly pierces the sky. We're talking about shooting stars. Find out what shooting stars are made of—and how to see one!

Throughout the year, our night skies light up with celestial events, called meteor showers, where countless shooting stars streak across the sky. As you gaze up at the starry show, you might wonder, what are shooting stars and what causes these meteor showers to recur year after year.

Is there a meteor shower tonight? Find out how and where to see shooting stars in 2026/27. What time is the meteor shower most visible?

This interactive sky map shows what’s visible right now from your location — including the Moon, planets, bright stars, meteor activity, satellite flyovers, and current observing conditions.

Track the next planetary alignment live. See which planets are visible in the sky tonight, get exact viewing times, and use our real-time constellation map.

A planetary alignment is when several planets appear to line up in the night sky from our vantage point on Earth. Although still billions of kilometers apart from each other in space, multiple planets can appear close to each other in the sky because of where they are in their orbits. Think of it like watching boats sailing across a wide bay.

Lineups of four or five planet naked-eye planets with optimal visibility typically occur every few years. Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn are frequently seen in the night sky, but the addition of Venus and Mercury make four- and five-planet lineups particularly noteworthy.

The ongoing planetary alignment is the first phase of this astronomical event in 2025, which began on 21 January and ended on 21 February 2025. [7] During this phase Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn were visible in the night sky.