# Is the Milky Way Visible from Nebraska?

Is the Milky Way Visible from Nebraska? If so, where is the best place to view it, and also what would be the best time of night to see it? I know this is probably a very novice question, just trying to get a better understanding of what I can see. If it helps, I'm south of Omaha.

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So, there are actually a wide range in declination that the Milky Way can be seen at. The range of declination you can see depends on your latitude (for a review of RA and declination, coordinates used in the celestial coordinate system, see this post). For example, here in Philadelphia (just about $+40^{\circ}$ declination), I'd be able to see from from $-50^{\circ}$ to $+90^{\circ}$ in declination. For Nebraska, find the latitude of your location. To calculate the lower limit, add your latitude (which will be positive since you're in the northern hemisphere) to $-90^{\circ}$ (mine was $+40^{\circ}$, so: $-90^{\circ} + 40^{\circ} = -50^{\circ}$). To find the upper limit in declination, it's even easier. Since you're in the northern hemisphere, you can actually see the north celestial pole. This means that the upper limit is simply the maximum it can possibly be, which is $+90^{\circ}$. The larger the latitude the more circumpolar your night sky gets.