Burnaby Stargazing & Astronomy Report
Light pollution and stargazing locations near Burnaby
- City
- Burnaby
- Country
- Canada
- Latitude
- 49.2488
- Longitude
- -122.9805
Key Sky Quality Metrics
- SQM (mag/arcsec²)
- 18.07
- Bortle class
- Class 8 (Class 8)
- Darkness Quotient
- 24%
- Dataset
- March 2026
City sky
Stargazing in Burnaby
Burnaby is a large suburban city in Metro Vancouver on Canada’s Pacific coast, closely tied to the wider urban sprawl while still framed by sea, islands and mountain landscapes.
The city generally experiences High Light Pollution, with a Darkness Quotient of 24% — making it brighter than many smaller Canadian communities, though not quite as overwhelmed as the very brightest downtown cores.
In practical terms, the most reliable sights from within Burnaby are the Moon, planets, double stars and the brightest open clusters. A few showpiece objects can still be attempted, but faint galaxies, delicate nebulae and the richer texture of the Milky Way are mostly washed out by the urban glow.
Truly worthwhile darker skies are not right on the doorstep, but a meaningful improvement is available with a moderate drive. The nearest reasonable sky is about 75 kilometres to the south, near San Juan County, Washington, where conditions reach a much more usable level for deep-sky observing.
The map shows Burnaby embedded in a broad, intense urban light dome, with the brightest core rendered in pink-white and surrounded by red, orange and yellow spill that merges into neighbouring built-up areas. In other words, the city does not stand apart as an isolated bright patch: it sits inside a much larger metropolitan glow.
There is some easing of brightness as you move away from the centre, especially toward the north and north-east where the colours fade through green and blue into darker grey-black territory. That pattern suggests the quickest escape from the worst skyglow is generally inland rather than through the most densely urbanised coastal and southern sectors.
To the south and west, brighter islands and linked patches of glow remain prominent, so the light pollution stays fragmented but widespread rather than dropping away cleanly. Compared with its surroundings, Burnaby is plainly on the bright side of the map, and genuinely dark conditions only begin once you are well beyond the main urban halo.
What the sky overhead is like
Looking straight up from Burnaby, the zenith sits at 18.07 SQM, which corresponds to a very bright city sky. Even overhead — usually the darkest part of an urban sky — the background remains noticeably grey rather than truly black.
That means the familiar brighter constellations are still there, but they appear with fewer surrounding stars and much less contrast than they would from the countryside. The Moon and planets stand out well, but subtle naked-eye features are lost, and the Milky Way is generally overwhelmed.
For telescope users, this kind of sky still supports rewarding sessions on bright targets, especially when transparency is good. For wide-field deep-sky observing, however, the limiting factor is not equipment so much as the strong and persistent glow above the city.
north - marginal
About 15 kilometres north of Burnaby, the sky improves to Bortle 6, which is marginal rather than truly dark. This direction does continue to improve well, with genuinely dark conditions reached at around 50 kilometres.
north-north-east - marginal
At roughly 15 kilometres north-north-east, conditions are around Bortle 6, so brighter targets remain the realistic focus. A much better sky arrives at about 50 kilometres, where this direction reaches genuinely dark territory.
north-east - marginal
Around 15 kilometres to the north-east, the sky is still only Bortle 6, making this a marginal quick escape from city lighting. The direction becomes far more rewarding at about 50 kilometres, where genuinely dark skies appear.
east-north-east - poor
Fifteen kilometres east-north-east of Burnaby, the sky is still Bortle 7, so the urban glow remains strong. Conditions improve sharply farther out, with genuinely dark skies reached at around 50 kilometres.
east - poor
At about 15 kilometres due east, the sky remains Bortle 8, which is still poor for anything beyond bright showpiece objects. This direction does improve eventually, but genuinely dark conditions are not reached until around 100 kilometres.
east-south-east - poor
Roughly 15 kilometres east-south-east of the city, the sky is still Bortle 8 and heavily affected by light pollution. A proper dark-sky improvement only arrives much farther out, at around 100 kilometres.
south-east - poor
About 15 kilometres south-east, the sky remains at Bortle 8, so there is little practical gain for quick observing. You need to keep going to around 100 kilometres before this direction becomes genuinely dark.
south-south-east - poor
At roughly 15 kilometres south-south-east, the sky is still Bortle 8 and strongly lit by the wider urban region. Genuinely dark skies are not reached within the sampled distance in this direction.
south - poor
Fifteen kilometres south of Burnaby, conditions are around Bortle 7, so the sky is still poor for faint deep-sky work. It improves steadily, with genuinely dark skies reached at around 100 kilometres, and reasonable conditions appearing sooner than that.
south-south-west - poor
Around 15 kilometres south-south-west, the sky remains Bortle 8, so the city glow is still dominant. There is a worthwhile improvement by about 50 kilometres, and this direction eventually reaches very dark conditions at around 200 kilometres.
south-west - poor
At about 15 kilometres south-west, the sky is still Bortle 8, offering only limited relief from Burnaby’s brightness. It becomes good by around 50 kilometres, with genuinely dark skies reached at around 100 kilometres.
west-south-west - poor
Fifteen kilometres west-south-west of the city, the sky is still Bortle 9, making it one of the least favourable nearby directions. The picture improves a lot farther out, reaching good conditions around 50 kilometres and genuinely dark skies around 100 kilometres.
west - poor
Around 15 kilometres due west, the sky remains Bortle 8, so the nearby horizon is still strongly affected by light pollution. This direction does become good at about 50 kilometres, and very dark skies are reached around 200 kilometres.
west-north-west - poor
At roughly 15 kilometres west-north-west, conditions are Bortle 7, so this is still a poor quick-drive direction for faint targets. It improves usefully by about 50 kilometres and reaches genuinely dark skies around 100 kilometres.
north-west - poor
About 15 kilometres north-west of Burnaby, the sky sits at Bortle 7, still noticeably washed out by surrounding light domes. A solid improvement appears around 50 kilometres, with genuinely dark conditions reached at about 100 kilometres.
north-north-west - marginal
At around 15 kilometres north-north-west, the sky improves to Bortle 6, making this one of the better nearby directions without being truly dark. This route strengthens farther out and reaches genuinely dark skies at around 100 kilometres.
zenith - poor
Looking straight up from Burnaby, the zenith is Bortle 8, so the overhead sky is bright and lacks the rich star density seen from darker places. The main constellations are still recognisable, but many fainter stars vanish into the glow and the Milky Way is generally not visible.
-
Near Area K (East Chilcotin), British Columbia
- Direction
- NE
- Distance (km)
- 268.9
- SQM
- 21.76
- Bortle
- 2
Milky Way, faint nebulae, deep-sky imaging
-
Near Area A (Bamfield), British Columbia
- Direction
- W
- Distance (km)
- 131.6
- SQM
- 21.66
- Bortle
- 3
Milky Way visible, broadband DSO imaging
-
Near San Juan County, Washington
- Direction
- S
- Distance (km)
- 76.8
- SQM
- 21.11
- Bortle
- 4
Bright nebulae, galaxies, narrowband imaging
Genuinely dark skies are not especially close to hand from Burnaby, and proper deep-sky conditions require a deliberate trip away from the Metro Vancouver glow.
The nearest reasonable option is about 75 kilometres to the south, near San Juan County, Washington, where skies improve to Bortle 4. If you are prepared to go farther, much darker conditions appear about 130 kilometres to the west near Area A (Bamfield), British Columbia, and become darker still to the north-east at greater distance.
-
Within 100 km
- Place
- Near San Juan County, Washington
- Direction
- S
- Distance (km)
- 76.8
- SQM
- 21.11
- Bortle
- 4
-
Within 200 km
- Place
- Near Area A (Bamfield), British Columbia
- Direction
- W
- Distance (km)
- 131.6
- SQM
- 21.66
- Bortle
- 3
-
Within 500 km
- Place
- Near Area K (East Chilcotin), British Columbia
- Direction
- NE
- Distance (km)
- 268.9
- SQM
- 21.76
- Bortle
- 2
Long-term light pollution trend
Burnaby’s long-term trend is slightly in the wrong direction, with average sky brightness worsening from 18.42 SQM in the earliest data to 18.07 SQM in the latest reading. The fitted trend is gentle rather than dramatic, at about -0.0078 SQM per year, so this is a slow decline rather than a sudden change.
The wider record shows some variation over time, with readings ranging from 17.92 SQM at the bright end to 21.98 SQM at the darkest end. That upper extreme is clearly not representative of the city centre itself, but it does show that conditions across the wider sampled area and over different periods can fluctuate quite a lot.
Taken as a whole, though, the picture is consistent: Burnaby remains a heavily light-polluted urban location, and there is no sign in the long-run data of the city becoming meaningfully darker for everyday observers.
From within Burnaby, the best targets are the ones that can punch through a bright urban background: the Moon, planets, double stars and a handful of bright clusters. These are the objects most likely to give satisfying views from a garden, balcony or local park.
A few brighter deep-sky showpieces can still be attempted with realistic expectations, especially with optics and careful observing. Even so, contrast is the real problem, so objects like faint galaxies and diffuse nebulae lose much of their structure.
For the Milky Way, richer nebula fields, meteor watching and serious deep-sky observing, a darker site outside the city makes a dramatic difference. Burnaby can support casual and planetary astronomy well, but it is not a natural deep-sky location.
- 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 Burnaby?
Yes — you can still see stars from Burnaby, especially the brighter stars and main constellation patterns. What you lose is the fainter background population that makes the sky look rich and crowded from darker locations.
Can you see the Milky Way from Burnaby?
In most normal city conditions, no: the Milky Way is generally washed out from Burnaby by heavy skyglow. You would usually need to travel well away from the city for a clear naked-eye view of it.
What Bortle class is Burnaby?
Burnaby is Bortle 8, which is a bright city-sky rating. In practical terms, that means urban glow strongly limits faint deep-sky observing.
What is the SQM reading for Burnaby?
The measured sky brightness for Burnaby is 18.07 SQM. That is firmly in bright urban territory rather than anything close to a dark rural sky.
Where are the nearest darker skies from Burnaby?
The nearest reasonable darker sky in the supplied data is about 75 kilometres to the south, near San Juan County, Washington, where conditions reach Bortle 4. If you are willing to travel farther, darker still are about 130 kilometres to the west near Area A (Bamfield), British Columbia.
Is Burnaby good for astrophotography?
It can be good for lunar, planetary and narrow-field work on bright targets, but it is challenging for wide-field deep-sky astrophotography because of the strong background glow. For nebulae, galaxies and Milky Way photography, a darker site will make a very noticeable difference.
How far do you need to drive from Burnaby for dark skies?
For a reasonable improvement suitable for more serious observing, you are looking at about 75 kilometres to reach Bortle 4 conditions near San Juan County, Washington. For darker Bortle 3 skies, the nearest listed option is about 130 kilometres away near Area A (Bamfield), British Columbia.