Banha Stargazing & Astronomy Report

Light pollution and stargazing locations near Banha

City
Banha
Country
Egypt
Latitude
30.4618
Longitude
31.1797

Key Sky Quality Metrics

SQM (mag/arcsec²)
17.99
Bortle class
Class 9 (Class 9)
Darkness Quotient
23%
Dataset
March 2026

Inner city sky

Stargazing in Banha

Banha is a busy Delta city in northern Egypt, lying within the densely settled Nile region north of Cairo and shaped by the broader urban character of the lower valley.

With a Darkness Quotient of 23%, Banha sits in the High Light Pollution tier — brighter than many smaller inland towns and closer in character to heavily lit urban areas than to Egypt's genuinely dark desert skies.

In practical terms, the most realistic targets from within the city are the Moon, bright planets, double stars and the very brightest open clusters. Fainter nebulae and galaxies are largely washed out by the city glow, with only a handful of showpiece objects offering any chance at all.

Really dark skies are not close at hand from Banha, and a proper step up means a long journey well beyond the immediate region. The nearest standout site in the supplied data is Near North Sinai, roughly 260 kilometres to the east, while even darker conditions appear farther afield to the south-south-east and west-south-west.

The map places Banha within a broad, intense pool of urban brightness, with the strongest white-pink core concentrated to the south and south-central part of the crop and a wide orange-red glow spreading across much of the surrounding region. That pattern suggests Banha sits inside a much larger illuminated corridor rather than as an isolated bright spot, so local light pollution is reinforced by neighbouring settlements in several directions.

The darkest tones in the crop appear mainly over the wider expanses away from the built-up belt, especially out towards the west and south-west, and in a large darker area to the east beyond the brighter urban fringe. By comparison with its surroundings, Banha is clearly embedded in one of the brighter parts of the map, with only gradual improvement nearby and more convincing darkness pushed well away from the city.

What the sky overhead is like

Looking straight up from Banha, the zenith is firmly in inner-city territory, with a Bortle 9 sky and an SQM reading of 17.99. In practice that means a bright, greyish background rather than a properly black sky, and the contrast needed for faint stars is heavily reduced.

The familiar brightest constellations still show their main outlines, but they tend to look thinned out, with many of the weaker linking stars missing. The Milky Way is effectively lost from the city, and even overhead observing is best focused on bright, high-contrast targets such as the Moon and planets.

north - poor

About 15 kilometres north of Banha, the sky is still poor, around Bortle 7, so the horizon remains strongly affected by light pollution. Conditions do improve with distance, and genuinely dark sky is reachable at roughly 200 kilometres in this direction.

north-north-east - poor

Around 15 kilometres to the north-north-east, the sky is still poor at roughly Bortle 7, with only a modest improvement over the city itself. A much more meaningful change arrives far out, with genuinely dark conditions appearing at about 200 kilometres.

north-east - poor

At roughly 15 kilometres to the north-east, the sky remains poor, sitting around Bortle 7 rather than anything you would call dark. If you continue much farther, this direction does eventually reach genuinely dark sky at around 200 kilometres.

east-north-east - poor

A short drive east-north-east still leaves you under poor skies, with the 15-kilometre sample at Bortle 8. This direction does improve at greater distance, and genuinely dark conditions appear at about 200 kilometres.

east - poor

Fifteen kilometres east of Banha, the sky is still poor at around Bortle 8, so city glow remains a major factor. Farther out there is a real improvement, with dark-sky territory reached at roughly 200 kilometres.

east-south-east - poor

The east-south-east remains poor at 15 kilometres, with a Bortle 8 sky and little relief from the urban glow. It becomes meaningfully better farther out, and genuinely dark sky is reached at about 200 kilometres.

south-east - poor

At 15 kilometres to the south-east, the sky is still poor, around Bortle 8, and this direction stays awkwardly bright for quite a long stretch. There is some improvement farther out, but genuinely dark skies are not reached within the sampled distance in this direction.

south-south-east - poor

A quick move south-south-east still leaves you with poor conditions at 15 kilometres, around Bortle 8. Much farther out the picture changes markedly, with genuinely dark sky appearing at about 200 kilometres.

south - poor

Fifteen kilometres south of the city, the sky remains poor at around Bortle 8, so deep-sky observing is still heavily limited. This direction does improve eventually, reaching good rural conditions by about 200 kilometres, but not genuinely dark sky within the sampled range.

south-south-west - poor

At around 15 kilometres to the south-south-west, conditions are still poor, with a Bortle 8 sky. The route improves with distance and reaches good skies by roughly 200 kilometres, though not the genuinely dark threshold within the sampled range.

south-west - poor

Around 15 kilometres south-west of Banha, the sky is still poor at about Bortle 7, though it is slightly less harsh than some eastern and southern bearings. A major improvement comes much farther out, with genuinely dark sky available at around 200 kilometres.

west-south-west - poor

The west-south-west is still poor at 15 kilometres, with conditions around Bortle 7 rather than truly rural darkness. It improves steadily with distance, reaching good skies sooner than many directions and genuinely dark sky at about 200 kilometres.

west - poor

Fifteen kilometres west of Banha, the sky remains poor at roughly Bortle 7, so only the brighter celestial targets stand out well. If you keep going, this direction eventually reaches genuinely dark conditions at around 200 kilometres.

west-north-west - poor

The west-north-west still looks poor at 15 kilometres, with a Bortle 7 sky and plenty of lingering glow. There is gradual improvement farther out, reaching good skies by about 200 kilometres, though not the genuinely dark threshold within the sampled range.

north-west - poor

At roughly 15 kilometres to the north-west, conditions are still poor, sitting around Bortle 7. This bearing does become much darker with distance, and genuinely dark sky is reached at about 200 kilometres.

north-north-west - poor

A short drive north-north-west still gives a poor sky at around Bortle 7, with only limited gains over central Banha. Continue far enough, though, and this becomes one of the better directions, reaching genuinely dark sky at about 200 kilometres.

zenith - poor

Directly overhead in Banha, the sky is poor, with a Bortle 9 zenith and strong urban brightening even away from the horizon. The brightest stars and main constellation patterns remain visible, but weaker stars fade quickly into the background and the Milky Way is not realistically visible from the city.

  • Near Matruh
    Direction
    WSW
    Distance (km)
    317.6
    SQM
    21.55
    Bortle
    3

    Milky Way visible, broadband DSO imaging

  • Near Al Minya
    Direction
    SSE
    Distance (km)
    297.5
    SQM
    21.40
    Bortle
    3

    Milky Way visible, broadband DSO imaging

  • Near North Sinai
    Direction
    E
    Distance (km)
    258.1
    SQM
    21.38
    Bortle
    3

    Milky Way visible, broadband DSO imaging

Genuinely dark skies require a significant journey from Banha rather than a quick trip out of town.

The nearest strong dark-sky option in the data is Near North Sinai, about 260 kilometres to the east, while similarly dark conditions also appear around 300 kilometres to the south-south-east near Near Al Minya and about 320 kilometres to the west-south-west near Near Matruh.

Closer to the city, there is some improvement in several directions, but the sky generally remains noticeably light-polluted for a long distance.

  • Within 500 km
    Place
    Near Matruh
    Direction
    WSW
    Distance (km)
    317.6
    SQM
    21.55
    Bortle
    3

Long-term trend

Banha's long-term sky-brightness record is fairly steady rather than dramatically changing. The earliest reading in the series is 18.03 SQM and the latest is 17.99 SQM, with a mean of 18.17 SQM across 75 datasets.

The full range, from 17.88 to 18.42 SQM, is quite narrow for such a long record, which suggests the city has remained consistently bright over time. The fitted trend is very slight, so for an observer on the ground the night sky today is broadly similar to what it has been for years: urban, washed out, and strongly affected by surrounding light.

From within Banha, urban light pollution strongly favours bright, high-contrast targets. The Moon and planets are the obvious winners, while double stars and a small number of bright star clusters can still be rewarding in modest equipment.

A few showpiece deep-sky objects may be possible with patience, careful timing and good transparency, especially objects such as the Orion Nebula or the brightest globulars. For the Milky Way, faint nebulae, most galaxies and meteor watching, a much darker site will make a dramatic difference.

  • Moon
  • planets
  • double stars
  • brightest open clusters
  • Orion Nebula (M42)
  • brightest globular clusters
  • Milky Way
  • faint galaxies
  • broadband nebulae
  • meteor showers

Can you see stars from Banha?

Yes — you can still see stars from Banha, but mainly the brighter ones. The main constellation patterns remain visible, though many fainter stars are lost in the urban glow.

Can you see the Milky Way from Banha?

Not realistically from within the city. With a Bortle 9 sky and SQM 17.99, the Milky Way is effectively washed out.

What Bortle class is Banha?

Banha is Bortle Class 9, which corresponds to an inner-city sky. That is the brightest end of the commonly used urban sky scale.

What is the SQM in Banha?

The measured sky brightness for Banha is 17.99 SQM. In simple terms, that indicates a bright urban night sky with limited contrast for faint astronomy targets.

Where are the nearest dark skies to Banha?

The nearest dark-sky site listed here is Near North Sinai, about 258.1 kilometres to the east, where conditions reach Bortle 3. Other strong options in the data are Near Al Minya at 297.5 kilometres to the south-south-east and Near Matruh at 317.6 kilometres to the west-south-west.

Is Banha good for astrophotography?

It can work for lunar, planetary and some narrow-field bright-object imaging, but Banha is not well suited to faint deep-sky astrophotography from within the city. For richer Milky Way or galaxy work, a much darker site is far better.

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

A modest improvement is possible by getting away from the city, but a really major change takes a long drive. The strongest dark-sky options in the supplied data are roughly 260 to 320 kilometres away, depending on direction.