Amarillo Stargazing & Astronomy Report
Light pollution and stargazing locations near Amarillo
- City
- Amarillo
- Country
- United States
- Latitude
- 35.2220
- Longitude
- -101.8313
Key Sky Quality Metrics
- SQM (mag/arcsec²)
- 18.63
- Bortle class
- Class 8 (Class 8)
- Darkness Quotient
- 29%
- Dataset
- March 2026
City sky
Stargazing in Amarillo
Amarillo is a regional plains city in the Texas Panhandle, known for its wide-open setting, big skies and role as a hub for the surrounding High Plains.
The city generally experiences High Light Pollution, with a Darkness Quotient of 29% — making it brighter than many smaller towns in the region, though not as overwhelming as the very largest urban centres.
For practical observing from within the city, the most reliable targets are the Moon, planets, double stars and the brightest open clusters. A few showpiece deep-sky objects can still be attempted, but faint galaxies, dim nebulae and the richer texture of the night sky are largely washed out by the urban glow.
The good news is that much darker skies are not especially far away by city standards. Around 50 kilometres to the north-north-east, near Near Moore County, Texas, conditions improve dramatically into genuinely dark-sky territory.
The map shows Amarillo as a concentrated bright core with a broad blue-green halo spreading well beyond the city itself, which is exactly what you would expect from a sizeable urban centre on relatively open plains. That glow appears strongest around the built-up area, then thins quite quickly into darker grey and black countryside.
What stands out most is how patchy the wider region is: there are many smaller bright islands scattered around the map, but they are separated by noticeably darker gaps. The darkest-looking areas are most convincing to the west and north-west of the city, with other darker pockets also appearing north and south-east once you get clear of the main urban halo.
Compared with its immediate surroundings, Amarillo is clearly the dominant local source of skyglow in the centre of the crop. Even so, the surrounding landscape does not stay bright for very long, which helps explain why a moderate drive can bring a substantial improvement in sky quality.
What the sky overhead is like
Looking straight up from Amarillo, the zenith sits in a poor category for astronomy, consistent with a bright city sky. The background sky is luminous enough that familiar constellations remain visible, but the fainter linking stars that give them their fuller shape are thinned out.
The brightest stars, planets and the Moon still show well overhead, and binocular targets like the very brightest clusters can be enjoyable. What you lose is subtle contrast: dark lanes, faint star clouds and low-surface-brightness deep-sky objects struggle badly against the skyglow.
In everyday observing terms, the sky still feels active rather than empty, but it does not deliver the rich depth that makes truly dark locations so memorable.
north - fair
About 15 kilometres north of Amarillo, the sky is fair for a quick escape, with conditions around Bortle 5. Carry on farther and the improvement becomes very worthwhile, with genuinely dark skies reached at about 50 kilometres in this direction.
north-north-east - fair
At roughly 15 kilometres to the north-north-east, conditions are fair, around Bortle 5, so the city glow is still present but reduced. This direction becomes especially strong farther out, with genuinely dark skies reached at about 100 kilometres, and a major improvement already appearing sooner.
north-east - fair
Around 15 kilometres to the north-east, the sky is fair at about Bortle 5, making brighter deep-sky targets more realistic than they are in town. A much darker sky arrives at about 50 kilometres in this direction.
east-north-east - fair
At 15 kilometres east-north-east, the sky is fair, again around Bortle 5, so this is a usable direction for a short rural session. The real breakthrough comes farther out, with genuinely dark skies reached at about 50 kilometres.
east - marginal
About 15 kilometres east of the city, conditions are marginal at roughly Bortle 6, so skyglow remains fairly noticeable. The direction improves strongly with distance, reaching genuinely dark skies at about 50 kilometres.
east-south-east - marginal
At around 15 kilometres east-south-east, the sky is marginal, near Bortle 6, with plenty of urban brightness still lingering. Better conditions do arrive, but the more convincing dark-sky improvement is farther out, at about 100 kilometres.
south-east - fair
Roughly 15 kilometres to the south-east, the sky is fair at about Bortle 5, noticeably better than the city centre. Continue outward and genuinely dark skies are reached at about 50 kilometres.
south-south-east - fair
At 15 kilometres south-south-east, conditions are fair, around Bortle 5, offering a decent short-drive improvement over town. Darker skies become properly impressive at about 50 kilometres in this direction.
south - marginal
About 15 kilometres south of Amarillo, the sky is marginal at around Bortle 6, so bright targets still make the most sense. A much darker sky is available farther out, with genuinely dark conditions reached at about 50 kilometres.
south-south-west - marginal
At roughly 15 kilometres south-south-west, the sky is marginal, close to Bortle 6, with city glow still intrusive. The direction improves markedly with distance, reaching genuinely dark skies at about 50 kilometres.
south-west - poor
Around 15 kilometres south-west of the city, the sky is poor at about Bortle 7, so this is not the strongest quick-drive direction. It does improve with distance, but the more convincing dark-sky step comes at about 100 kilometres.
west-south-west - marginal
At 15 kilometres west-south-west, the sky is marginal, around Bortle 6, so the urban dome still has a clear effect. Farther out this becomes one of the better directions, with genuinely dark skies reached at about 100 kilometres.
west - fair
About 15 kilometres west of Amarillo, the sky is fair at roughly Bortle 5, making it a reasonable direction for a quick run out of town. A substantially darker sky appears at about 50 kilometres.
west-north-west - fair
At around 15 kilometres west-north-west, conditions are fair, near Bortle 5, with a useful reduction in local glow. Genuinely dark skies are reached at about 50 kilometres, and they continue improving farther out.
north-west - fair
Roughly 15 kilometres north-west, the sky is fair at about Bortle 5, so this is a practical direction for a short observing trip. A stronger dark-sky result arrives at about 50 kilometres.
north-north-west - fair
At 15 kilometres north-north-west, the sky is fair, around Bortle 5, with a clear improvement over the city centre. Genuinely dark skies are reached at about 50 kilometres in this direction.
zenith - poor
Looking straight up from Amarillo, the zenith is poor, corresponding to a bright city sky. The main constellation patterns are still visible overhead, but many fainter stars are lost and the background never becomes truly black.
That means the Moon, bright planets and the most obvious stars remain enjoyable, while subtler deep-sky detail is heavily suppressed. The Milky Way is not a reliable city-centre sight overhead under these conditions.
-
Near Colfax County, New Mexico
- Direction
- WNW
- Distance (km)
- 267.6
- SQM
- 21.71
- Bortle
- 2
Milky Way, faint nebulae, deep-sky imaging
-
Near Baca County, Colorado
- Direction
- SSW
- Distance (km)
- 279.1
- SQM
- 21.68
- Bortle
- 3
Milky Way visible, broadband DSO imaging
-
Near Moore County, Texas
- Direction
- NNE
- Distance (km)
- 50.3
- SQM
- 21.41
- Bortle
- 3
Milky Way visible, broadband DSO imaging
Genuinely dark skies are quite accessible from Amarillo, rather than requiring an all-day journey. The nearest clear step up is about 50 kilometres to the north-north-east, near Near Moore County, Texas, where skies reach Bortle 3 quality.
In several directions the sky improves noticeably even before that, with fair-to-good rural conditions appearing on the outskirts and stronger dark-sky results building as you get farther from the city glow.
-
Within 100 km
- Place
- Near Moore County, Texas
- Direction
- NNE
- Distance (km)
- 50.3
- SQM
- 21.41
- Bortle
- 3
-
Within 500 km
- Place
- Near Colfax County, New Mexico
- Direction
- WNW
- Distance (km)
- 267.6
- SQM
- 21.71
- Bortle
- 2
Long-term sky trend
Amarillo's long-term trend is slightly towards brighter skies, not darker ones. The measured SQM has moved from 18.81 in the earliest record to 18.63 in the latest, a small overall decline in darkness.
The year-by-year change is gentle rather than dramatic, with a trend of about -0.015 SQM per year across 75 datasets. In practical terms, that suggests the city sky has remained broadly similar over time, but with a slow drift in the wrong direction for deep-sky observing.
The full range is fairly tight, from 18.57 to 18.97, so Amarillo has been consistently bright rather than wildly variable. For local observers, that means the main route to much better stargazing is still distance from the city rather than waiting for a markedly different local baseline.
From within Amarillo itself, the best targets are the bright, high-contrast ones. The Moon and planets are least affected by the glow, while double stars and the brightest open clusters can still give satisfying views.
A few showpiece deep-sky objects remain possible with patience, especially larger and brighter targets such as M42 or the brightest globulars. Even then, contrast is the limiting factor, so expectations need to stay modest.
For the Milky Way, faint galaxies, wide nebulae and meteor watching, a darker site outside the city makes a dramatic difference. Amarillo is actually quite fortunate here, because that improvement arrives after a manageable drive rather than an expedition.
- Moon
- planets
- double stars
- brightest open clusters
- bright nebulae such as M42
- the brightest globular clusters
- Milky Way
- faint galaxies
- broadband nebulae
- meteor showers
Can you see stars from Amarillo?
Yes — you can still see stars from Amarillo, including the brighter constellations and prominent seasonal patterns. What drops away are the fainter background stars that make the sky look richly packed from darker places.
Can you see the Milky Way from Amarillo?
From the city itself, the Milky Way is generally not a reliable sight because Amarillo's sky is bright, at Bortle 8 with an SQM of 18.63. A short drive out into darker countryside gives you a much better chance.
What Bortle class is Amarillo?
Amarillo is Bortle Class 8, which is a city sky. In practical terms, that means bright objects do well, while faint deep-sky observing is heavily restricted.
What is the SQM in Amarillo?
The measured sky brightness for Amarillo is 18.63 SQM. That is firmly on the bright side for astronomy and fits with the city's Bortle 8 classification.
Where are the nearest dark skies to Amarillo?
The nearest strong dark-sky option listed here is Near Moore County, Texas, about 50.3 kilometres to the north-north-east, where conditions reach Bortle 3. If you are willing to travel much farther, Near Colfax County, New Mexico offers even darker Bortle 2 skies.
Is Amarillo good for astrophotography?
It can be good for lunar, planetary and some narrow-field astrophotography from within the city, because bright targets cope best with skyglow. For Milky Way work, faint nebulae or cleaner deep-sky imaging, you will get much better results by heading out to darker ground.
How far do you need to drive from Amarillo for better stargazing?
For a clear improvement, you do not need to go especially far by regional standards: around 50 kilometres can already get you into much darker skies in several directions. One of the best nearby listed options is Near Moore County, Texas, about 50.3 kilometres away.