Alexandria Stargazing & Astronomy Report

Light pollution and stargazing locations near Alexandria

City
Alexandria
Country
Egypt
Latitude
31.2001
Longitude
29.9187

Key Sky Quality Metrics

SQM (mag/arcsec²)
17.70
Bortle class
Class 9 (Class 9)
Darkness Quotient
21%
Dataset
March 2026

Inner city sky

Stargazing from Alexandria

Alexandria is a major Mediterranean port city on Egypt's northern coast, spread along a densely built shoreline in the north of the country.

With a Darkness Quotient of 21%, Alexandria falls in the High Light Pollution tier, placing it among the brighter large urban skies rather than the darker end of Egypt's populated places. The city glow is strong enough that only the Moon, planets, a modest number of bright stars, and a few showpiece clusters reliably stand out. Fainter galaxies, most nebulae, and the Milky Way are largely washed from view under the urban sky.

For a noticeable improvement you need to leave the city behind rather than just reach the outskirts. Around 65 kilometres to the east-north-east, Kafr El Sheikh gives a darker sky, while genuinely dark conditions only arrive much farther away, roughly 300 kilometres east at Pending reverse geocode.

The map crop shows Alexandria sitting in a bright coastal band, with the most intense light concentrated around the city itself and stretching along the built-up shore. This is the classic pattern of a large urban area where the local glow spreads widely and keeps the horizon bright in several directions.

Away from the centre, the colours soften more quickly inland than they do along the developed coastal strip. The darkest-looking regions on the map appear farther north over the sea and then, more practically for observers on land, at greater distance to the north-west, north-north-west, north, and inland towards the east and south once you are well clear of the metropolitan glow.

Compared with its immediate surroundings, Alexandria is one of the brightest points in the local map area. The crop suggests that modest gains are available within a medium drive, but the clearest break from the city dome comes only after getting well away from the urban corridor.

Looking up from the city

At the zenith, straight overhead, Alexandria sits at Bortle Class 9 with an SQM of 17.7, so the sky background is bright even at its best point. Looking up, you can expect the main constellations to remain recognisable, but many of their fainter linking stars will be lost.

The brightest planets, the Moon, and a handful of standout stars cut through easily, while subtle structure in the sky does not. Any glow lower down towards the horizon is stronger still, so overhead is by far the most rewarding part of the sky from within the city.

north - marginal

Fifteen kilometres north of Alexandria, the sky improves to Bortle 6, which is marginal rather than genuinely dark. This direction improves quite well over distance, and by about 100 kilometres north the samples reach very dark conditions.

north-north-east - marginal

Fifteen kilometres to the north-north-east, the sky is Bortle 6, so there is some relief from the city glow but plenty of brightness remains. If you keep going in this direction, truly dark sky arrives at about 100 kilometres.

north-east - poor

Fifteen kilometres to the north-east, the sky is still Bortle 8, so Alexandria's glow remains dominant. Conditions do improve farther out, but you need roughly 100 kilometres in this direction before the samples reach genuinely dark sky.

east-north-east - poor

Fifteen kilometres east-north-east, the sky is Bortle 8, which is still poor for anything faint. This route does improve eventually, but only at around 200 kilometres do the samples reach genuinely dark conditions.

east - poor

Fifteen kilometres east of the city, the sky remains Bortle 8 and still feels strongly affected by urban light. Genuinely dark skies are not within the sampled radius in this direction.

east-south-east - poor

Fifteen kilometres east-south-east, the sky is Bortle 7, so only a limited improvement is on offer. Even out to the edge of the sampled area, genuinely dark skies do not appear in this direction.

south-east - poor

Fifteen kilometres south-east of Alexandria, the sky is Bortle 7 and still heavily brightened. Genuinely dark skies are not within the sampled radius in this direction.

south-south-east - poor

Fifteen kilometres south-south-east, the sky is Bortle 7, so the city still has a strong hold on the view. This direction gets better slowly, but it does not reach genuinely dark sky within the sampled radius.

south - poor

Fifteen kilometres south of the city, the sky is Bortle 7 and still bright enough to hide most faint targets. It improves steadily, and by about 200 kilometres south the samples reach genuinely dark conditions.

south-south-west - poor

Fifteen kilometres south-south-west, the sky is Bortle 8, which is poor for deep-sky observing. The samples improve to decent rural levels farther out, but genuinely dark skies are not reached within the sampled radius.

south-west - poor

Fifteen kilometres south-west of Alexandria, the sky is Bortle 8 and remains strongly light-polluted. It does become much better at greater distance, but genuinely dark skies are not reached within the sampled radius.

west-south-west - poor

Fifteen kilometres west-south-west, the sky is Bortle 8, so the city dome is still very intrusive. This direction eventually becomes much darker, with genuinely dark sky appearing at around 200 kilometres.

west - marginal

Fifteen kilometres west of Alexandria, the sky improves to Bortle 6, which is marginal but noticeably better than the city centre. It gets to good rural levels farther out, though genuinely dark skies are not within the sampled radius in this direction.

west-north-west - marginal

Fifteen kilometres west-north-west, the sky is Bortle 6, so brighter stars and some easier deep-sky targets fare better here than in town. This direction improves well, and around 100 kilometres out it reaches genuinely dark sky.

north-west - marginal

Fifteen kilometres north-west of Alexandria, the sky is Bortle 6, offering a noticeable improvement over the city centre. This is one of the quicker routes to dark conditions, with genuinely dark sky appearing at about 50 kilometres.

north-north-west - marginal

Fifteen kilometres north-north-west, the sky is Bortle 6 and distinctly better than central Alexandria. This is another strong direction for escape from the light dome, with genuinely dark sky reached at about 50 kilometres.

zenith - poor

Looking straight up from Alexandria, the zenith is Bortle 9, so the sky background is bright and washed out. The main star patterns are still there, but the fainter members of constellations fade away, and the Milky Way is effectively lost against the glow.

  • Al Nubaria, Beheira Governorate
    Direction
    SSE
    Distance (km)
    59.4
    SQM
    19.84
    Bortle
    6
  • Kafr El Sheikh
    Direction
    ENE
    Distance (km)
    65.1
    SQM
    19.96
    Bortle
    6
  • Kafr El Sheikh
    Direction
    ENE
    Distance (km)
    105.1
    SQM
    19.95
    Bortle
    6
  • Beheira Governorate
    Direction
    SE
    Distance (km)
    102
    SQM
    19.45
    Bortle
    7

Dark skies are not close to hand from Alexandria, and a short run out of the city is unlikely to transform the view. The nearest useful improvement is around 65 kilometres to the east-north-east at Kafr El Sheikh, where the sky is darker but still not truly dark.

For a much better night under the stars, you are looking at a long journey. The nearest supplied truly dark site is roughly 300 kilometres east at Pending reverse geocode.

  • Within 100 km
    Place
    Pending reverse geocode
    Direction
    ENE
    Distance (km)
    65.1
    SQM
    19.96
    Bortle
    6
  • Within 200 km
    Place
    Pending reverse geocode
    Direction
    ENE
    Distance (km)
    105.1
    SQM
    19.95
    Bortle
    6
  • Within 500 km
    Place
    Pending reverse geocode
    Direction
    E
    Distance (km)
    300
    SQM
    21.52
    Bortle
    3

Long term sky brightness trend

Alexandria's readings have been fairly steady over the available record, with some variation from one dataset to another but no dramatic swing. The earliest value in the series is 17.48 SQM and the latest is 17.7 SQM, with a mean of 17.82 SQM across 83 datasets.

The fitted trend is slightly upward at 0.026 SQM per year, which points to a modest darkening on paper rather than a worsening sky. In practice, though, Alexandria remains very bright overall, so this small long-term shift does not change the basic observing experience in the city centre.

From Alexandria itself, urban astronomy is mostly about bright, high-contrast targets. The Moon, planets, double stars, and a small selection of bright clusters are the most dependable choices.

A few famous deep-sky objects can still be attempted with patience, especially from the better parts of the sky and with optical aid, but they lose a lot of their structure. For the Milky Way, faint nebulae, most galaxies, and rewarding meteor watching, a darker site well outside the city makes a very large difference.

  • Moon
  • planets
  • double stars
  • bright variable stars
  • the brightest open clusters such as the Pleiades
  • Orion Nebula
  • bright globular clusters
  • Andromeda Galaxy as a faint patch from the better edges of the city
  • Milky Way
  • faint galaxies
  • most nebulae
  • meteor showers
  • wide-field astrophotography of star clouds

Can you see stars from Alexandria?

Yes, you can still see stars from Alexandria, including the brighter constellations and prominent seasonal patterns. What changes is the number of faint stars, which drops sharply under the city's bright sky.

Can you see the Milky Way from Alexandria?

In most of Alexandria, the Milky Way is effectively washed out by light pollution. To see it properly, you would need to travel well away from the city.

What Bortle class is Alexandria?

Alexandria is Bortle Class 9 at the sampled city location, which is an inner city sky. That means the background sky is very bright and only the more obvious celestial objects stand out well.

What is the SQM reading for Alexandria?

The SQM reading is 17.7. In simple terms, that is a bright urban sky rather than a dark observing site.

Where are the nearest darker skies?

The nearest supplied darker site is Kafr El Sheikh, around 65 kilometres to the east-north-east, where conditions improve to Bortle 6. For truly dark sky, the nearest supplied option is much farther away, roughly 300 kilometres east at Pending reverse geocode.

Is Alexandria good for astrophotography?

It can work for lunar, planetary, and some bright-object astrophotography, especially with filters and careful processing. It is much less suitable for faint nebulae, wide Milky Way scenes, and subtle galaxy work unless you travel to darker skies.

How far do you need to drive from Alexandria for better stargazing?

For a noticeable improvement, plan on roughly 65 kilometres to reach a darker but still imperfect sky such as Kafr El Sheikh. For genuinely dark conditions, the supplied data points to a much longer journey of about 300 kilometres.