Bunbury Stargazing & Astronomy Report

Light pollution and stargazing locations near Bunbury

City
Bunbury
Country
Australia
Latitude
-33.3271
Longitude
115.6414

Key Sky Quality Metrics

SQM (mag/arcsec²)
19.19
Bortle class
Class 7 (Class 7)
Darkness Quotient
36%
Dataset
August 2026

Suburban/urban transition

Bunbury: The Practical Verdict

Bunbury, a small city in Australia, offers a mixed bag for stargazing enthusiasts. Overall, the city presents a poor urban/suburban sky due to high light pollution, limiting deep-sky observations to the brighter objects such as the Moon and planets. This light pollution, especially prominent towards the north-east, severely restricts the visibility of the night sky's faintest wonders, like the Milky Way.

From Bunbury, the celestial theme centres on brighter astronomical targets. While the Milky Way remains invisible, observers can enjoy viewing the Moon, bright planets, double stars, and open clusters. For deep-sky imagers, narrowband imaging requires careful processing but can yield results for bright emission nebulae.

For those seeking a better visual experience, Newnham Road to the north offers a significantly darker sky, roughly around a 55 km drive from Bunbury. With Bortle class 3 conditions, it is a worthwhile choice for more serious stargazing or deep-sky photography.

At a Glance

Overall
Poor urban/suburban sky - This is a poor sky for astronomy. The Moon, planets, and a few bright objects remain viable, but deep-sky work is difficult.
Milky Way
Not visible - The Milky Way is not realistically visible from this level of light pollution.
Best targets from here
Moon, planets, bright double stars, bright open clusters, narrowband imaging with careful processing
Do not prioritise
visual deep-sky observing, broadband galaxies, reflection nebulae, Milky Way photography
Best nearby upgrade
Newnham Road, Western Australia sits about 57 km north and reaches Bortle 3, roughly 8.2x darker.
Good dark window
Bunbury's longest dark windows fall in June and July, with the shortest nights around December and January. For deep-sky imaging, winter gives the best combination of long nights and true astronomical darkness.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you see the Milky Way from Bunbury?

No. Bunbury is a Bortle Class 7 sky with SQM 19.19, so the Milky Way is not visible from the city. For Milky Way photography, look for a Bortle 4 or darker site.

What Bortle class is Bunbury?

Bunbury is Bortle Class 7 (SQM 19.19), a poor urban/suburban sky for astronomy.

Is Bunbury good for stargazing?

Not for serious deep-sky observing. Bunbury is a poor urban/suburban sky where the Moon, planets, and a handful of bright targets are the realistic options from the city itself.

Is Bunbury good for astrophotography?

Broadband deep-sky imaging is heavily compromised from Bunbury and a Bortle 4 or darker site is strongly recommended. Narrowband imaging of bright emission nebulae remains viable from Bunbury with appropriate Ha or OIII filters.

What can you observe from Bunbury?

Primary targets from Bunbury include Moon, planets, bright double stars, bright open clusters, narrowband imaging with careful processing. Targets such as visual deep-sky observing, broadband galaxies, reflection nebulae are not realistic from this sky.

Where are darker skies near Bunbury?

The closest meaningfully darker mapped site is Roelands, Western Australia, about 19 km east of Bunbury, reaching Bortle 6.

When is the sky darkest in Bunbury?

The sky over Bunbury is darkest around June, July.

Is light pollution in Bunbury getting better or worse?

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

north - excellent

The north horizon is fully dark. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground and the Milky Way reaches the horizon on clear nights.

north-north-east - good

Dark sky in the north-north-east direction with no obvious skyglow. Suitable for faint-object work at low elevation.

north-east - good

Dark sky in the north-east direction with no obvious skyglow. Suitable for faint-object work at low elevation.

east-north-east - good

Dark horizon to the east-north-east. Faint stars and extended objects in this direction behave much as they do overhead.

east - good

No noticeable light pollution to the east. The sky in this direction is dark to the horizon.

east-south-east - good

Dark sky in the east-south-east direction with no obvious skyglow. Suitable for faint-object work at low elevation.

south-east - good

The south-east horizon is dark. Faint stars are visible close to the ground.

south-south-east - good

The south-south-east sky is dark to the horizon. Faint targets are accessible at all elevations here.

south - excellent

Dark sky to the south horizon. The Milky Way can be traced to the ground in this direction.

south-south-west - excellent

Clean, fully dark horizon to the south-south-west. Star counts remain high right down to the ground.

south-west - excellent

Dark sky to the south-west horizon. The Milky Way can be traced to the ground in this direction.

west-south-west - excellent

The west-south-west horizon is dark to the unaided eye. Faint stars are visible at the lowest elevations.

west - excellent

No artificial glow on the west horizon. Faint deep-sky objects in this direction are accessible at low elevation.

west-north-west - excellent

The west-north-west horizon is fully dark. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground and the Milky Way reaches the horizon on clear nights.

north-west - excellent

The north-west horizon is dark to the unaided eye. Faint stars are visible at the lowest elevations.

north-north-west - excellent

The north-north-west horizon is dark to the unaided eye. Faint stars are visible at the lowest elevations.

zenith - fair

Overhead is brighter than natural but still usable. The Milky Way is absent; brighter Messier objects remain accessible.

  • Newnham Road, Western Australia
    Direction
    N
    Distance (km)
    57.3
    SQM
    21.48
    Bortle
    3
  • Roelands, Western Australia
    Direction
    E
    Distance (km)
    19.2
    SQM
    20.24
    Bortle
    6
  • Yallingup, Western Australia
    Direction
    SW
    Distance (km)
    68.7
    SQM
    21.65
    Bortle
    3
  • George Road, Western Australia
    Direction
    SSW
    Distance (km)
    68.1
    SQM
    21.49
    Bortle
    3
  • Donnelly River, Western Australia
    Direction
    SSE
    Distance (km)
    93.9
    SQM
    21.66
    Bortle
    3
  • Tonebridge, Western Australia
    Direction
    SE
    Distance (km)
    140.3
    SQM
    21.69
    Bortle
    3