Cali Stargazing & Astronomy Report
Light pollution and stargazing locations near Cali
- City
- Cali
- Country
- Colombia
- Latitude
- 3.4516
- Longitude
- -76.5320
Key Sky Quality Metrics
- SQM (mag/arcsec²)
- 18.34
- Bortle class
- Class 8 (Class 8)
- Darkness Quotient
- 26%
- Dataset
- April 2026
City sky
Cali: The Practical Verdict
Cali, a major city in Colombia's Valle del Cauca department, presents challenging conditions for amateur astronomy. The sky brightness is in the upper range of high light pollution, and the Milky Way is entirely erased here. Observational astronomy is notably poor due to the dense urban setting.
From within the city, observers are mostly limited to targets like the Moon, planets, bright stars, and double stars. Deep-sky objects remain firmly out of reach for visual observation, and only the brightest nebulae and clusters are achievable using electronic aids or narrowband filters.
A meaningful upgrade is possible by travelling to Buenaventura, north-west of the city and about 120 km away. There, with skies under Bortle 2 conditions, exceptional deep-sky observation becomes viable.
At a Glance
- Overall
- Poor city sky - This is a poor city sky. The Milky Way is not visible and most deep-sky observing is unrealistic from the location itself.
- Milky Way
- Not visible - The Milky Way is erased by the bright urban sky background.
- Best targets from here
- Moon, planets, bright stars, double stars, solar system events, narrowband imaging only with care
- Do not prioritise
- visual deep-sky observing, broadband galaxies, reflection nebulae, widefield Milky Way
- Best nearby upgrade
- Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca sits about 119 km north west and reaches Bortle 2, roughly 23x darker.
- Good dark window
- Cali 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 Cali?
No. Cali is a Bortle Class 8 sky with SQM 18.34, 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 Cali?
Cali is Bortle Class 8 (SQM 18.34), a poor city sky for astronomy.
Is Cali good for stargazing?
Not for serious deep-sky observing. Cali is a poor city sky where the Moon, planets, and a handful of bright targets are the realistic options from the city itself.
Is Cali good for astrophotography?
Broadband deep-sky imaging is heavily compromised from Cali and a Bortle 4 or darker site is strongly recommended. Even narrowband imaging is difficult from Cali without careful processing.
What can you observe from Cali?
Primary targets from Cali include Moon, planets, bright stars, double stars, solar system events. Targets such as visual deep-sky observing, broadband galaxies, reflection nebulae are not realistic from this sky.
Where are darker skies near Cali?
The closest meaningfully darker mapped site is Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, about 47 km west north west of Cali, reaching Bortle 4.
When is the sky darkest in Cali?
The sky over Cali is darkest around March, October.
Is light pollution in Cali getting better or worse?
There is not yet enough long-term data to give a confident trend for Cali.
north - good
Clean, dark sky to the north. No visible artificial light source affects this quarter.
north-north-east - fair
Mild brightening on the north-north-east horizon. Faint stars at the very lowest elevation are dimmed; otherwise unaffected.
north-east - fair
The north-east horizon is mostly dark with a hint of light pollution. Faint stars are accessible above about 10 degrees.
east-north-east - fair
Mild brightening on the east-north-east horizon. Faint stars at the very lowest elevation are dimmed; otherwise unaffected.
east - good
Clean, dark sky to the east. No visible artificial light source affects this quarter.
east-south-east - fair
A small artificial brightening near the east-south-east horizon. Star counts in this direction remain high above the lowest elevations.
south-east - good
Clean horizon to the south-east. Star counts remain high near the ground.
south-south-east - fair
The south-south-east horizon shows a slight brightening. Workable for most targets above about 10 degrees elevation.
south - fair
The south horizon shows a slight brightening. Workable for most targets above about 10 degrees elevation.
south-south-west - good
Clean horizon to the south-south-west. Star counts remain high near the ground.
south-west - good
The south-west horizon is free of artificial brightening. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground.
west-south-west - good
No visible glow on the west-south-west horizon. Stars are clear down to low elevation in this direction.
west - good
No visible glow on the west horizon. Stars are clear down to low elevation in this direction.
west-north-west - good
The west-north-west horizon is free of artificial brightening. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground.
north-west - good
Clean, dark sky to the north-west. No visible artificial light source affects this quarter.
north-north-west - good
The north-north-west horizon is free of artificial brightening. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground.
zenith - marginal
Light pollution affects most of the overhead sky. Star counts are a fraction of a dark site.
-
Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca
- Direction
- WNW
- Distance (km)
- 46.8
- SQM
- 21.15
- Bortle
- 4
-
Localidad El Pailón, Valle del Cauca
- Direction
- NW
- Distance (km)
- 68.6
- SQM
- 20.94
- Bortle
- 4
-
Teruel, Huila
- Direction
- SE
- Distance (km)
- 96
- SQM
- 21.37
- Bortle
- 3
-
Comunidad indígena de Las Mercedes, Tolima
- Direction
- ESE
- Distance (km)
- 71.8
- SQM
- 20.48
- Bortle
- 5
-
Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca
- Direction
- NW
- Distance (km)
- 118.9
- SQM
- 21.74
- Bortle
- 2
-
Cucurrupi, Chocó
- Direction
- NNW
- Distance (km)
- 117.6
- SQM
- 21.04
- Bortle
- 4