Baing Stargazing & Astronomy Report

Key Sky Quality Metrics

SQM (mag/arcsec²)

21.91

Bortle class

Class 2 (Class 2)

Darkness Quotient

97%

Dataset

May 2026

Typical truly dark site

Baing: The Practical Verdict

Baing, located in remote East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, is a classified dark-sky location. It offers a very strong dark sky that few places equal. The sky quality is pristine, making it a must-visit for serious stargazers.

The Milky Way is vividly visible here with prominent structure, making galaxy and nebula observing particularly rewarding. The conditions are also excellent for meteor showers and photography projects like broadband imaging and widefield nightscapes. With such strong skies, sky brightness does not limit target choice, and even very low-altitude targets can be viable when transparency is high.

This location is already among the best for dark skies in the region. Attempting to travel to nearby sites would offer only a marginal improvement in sky darkness, but such efforts are largely unnecessary given the inherent quality of your current location.

At a Glance

Overall

Very strong dark sky - This is a very strong dark-sky location where the Milky Way, faint stars, nebulae, and galaxies are realistically accessible.

Milky Way

Clearly visible - The Milky Way should be prominent on moonless nights, with visible structure and strong contrast.

Best targets from here

Milky Way, galaxies, nebulae, globular clusters, open clusters, meteor showers

Do not prioritise

none due to light pollution alone

Already a strong sky

Baing is already a strong astronomy location. There is no obvious reason to travel for a darker sky.

Good dark window

Baing retains astronomical darkness throughout the year, so seasonality is less extreme than at higher latitudes. The main limitation is light pollution, not the length of the dark window.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you see the Milky Way from Baing?

Yes. Baing reaches Bortle 2, dark enough that the Milky Way is clearly visible on clear, moonless nights.

What Bortle class is Baing?

Baing is Bortle Class 2 (SQM 21.91), a very strong dark sky for astronomy.

Is Baing good for stargazing?

Yes. Baing is a very strong dark sky and supports serious stargazing including deep-sky observing.

Is Baing good for astrophotography?

Broadband deep-sky imaging is realistic from Baing. Narrowband imaging of bright emission nebulae remains viable from Baing with appropriate Ha or OIII filters.

What can you observe from Baing?

Primary targets from Baing include Milky Way, galaxies, nebulae, globular clusters, open clusters. Targets such as none due to light pollution alone are not realistic from this sky.

Where are darker skies near Baing?

No meaningfully darker mapped site was found within the search radius around Baing.

When is the sky darkest in Baing?

The sky over Baing is darkest around June, July.

Is light pollution in Baing getting better or worse?

Long-term light pollution over Baing has been broadly stable across the available measurements.

• Kecamatan Wulla Waijelu, East Nusa Tenggara

  Direction

  WSW

  Distance (km)

  10.7

  SQM

  21.92

  Bortle

  2

• Boneogeh, South Sulawesi

  Direction

  N

  Distance (km)

  330

  SQM

  21.96

  Bortle

  1