Casablanca Stargazing & Astronomy Report
Light pollution and stargazing locations near Casablanca
- City
- Casablanca
- Country
- Morocco
- Latitude
- 33.5731
- Longitude
- -7.5898
Key Sky Quality Metrics
- SQM (mag/arcsec²)
- 17.34
- Bortle class
- Class 9 (Class 9)
- Darkness Quotient
- 18%
- Dataset
- April 2026
Inner city sky
Casablanca: The Practical Verdict
Casablanca, the largest city in Morocco, is deeply affected by extreme light pollution due to its size and urban density. The overall quality for stargazing from within the city is poor, offering a severe urban sky that will only allow observation of the brightest celestial objects. The south-south-west horizon is particularly bright, whereas the north-north-west offers slightly less interference but still cannot be considered suitable for deep-sky viewing.
The Milky Way is not visible in this sky, and casual deep-sky observing is impractical. Most targets are limited to brighter ones such as the Moon, planets, or prominent stars. Nebulae or galaxies will remain inaccessible visually, though narrowband imaging with careful setup can still enable the capture of some brighter nebulae.
Darker skies are accessible; the best improvement would be at Sidi Ettiji سيدي تيجي, roughly 195 km south-west. It offers a more promising Bortle 4 sky, significantly better suited for serious deep-sky and Milky Way observations.
At a Glance
- Overall
- Severe urban sky - This is a severely light-polluted urban sky. Only the Moon, planets, bright stars, and a few specialist targets remain practical.
- Milky Way
- Not visible - The Milky Way is not visible from this sky.
- 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
- Sidi Ettiji سيدي تيجي, Marrakech-Safi sits about 197 km south west and reaches Bortle 4, roughly 26x darker.
- Good dark window
- Casablanca's longest dark windows fall in December and January, with the shortest nights around June and July. Plan deep-sky sessions around the autumn and winter months for the best combination of long nights and true astronomical darkness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you see the Milky Way from Casablanca?
No. Casablanca is a Bortle Class 9 sky with SQM 17.34, 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 Casablanca?
Casablanca is Bortle Class 9 (SQM 17.34), a severe urban sky for astronomy.
Is Casablanca good for stargazing?
Not for serious deep-sky observing. Casablanca is a severe urban sky where the Moon, planets, and a handful of bright targets are the realistic options from the city itself.
Is Casablanca good for astrophotography?
Broadband deep-sky imaging is heavily compromised from Casablanca and a Bortle 4 or darker site is strongly recommended. Even narrowband imaging is difficult from Casablanca without careful processing.
What can you observe from Casablanca?
Primary targets from Casablanca 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 Casablanca?
The closest meaningfully darker mapped site is Al Majjatia Oulad Taleb, Casablanca-Settat, about 18 km south east of Casablanca, reaching Bortle 7.
When is the sky darkest in Casablanca?
The sky over Casablanca is darkest around January, December.
Is light pollution in Casablanca getting better or worse?
Long-term light pollution over Casablanca has been broadly stable across the available measurements.
north - good
Clean, dark sky to the north. No visible artificial light source affects this quarter.
north-north-east - fair
The north-north-east horizon shows a slight brightening. Workable for most targets above about 10 degrees elevation.
north-east - fair
Mild brightening on the north-east horizon. Faint stars at the very lowest elevation are dimmed; otherwise unaffected.
east-north-east - marginal
The lower east-north-east sky is moderately light-polluted. Useful for bright targets above about 20 degrees only.
east - fair
A small artificial brightening near the east horizon. Star counts in this direction remain high above the lowest elevations.
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 - fair
Subtle skyglow on the south-east horizon. Faint stars below about 10 degrees here are slightly suppressed.
south-south-east - marginal
A soft but obvious glow marks the south-south-east horizon. The lowest 15-20 degrees of sky in this direction are degraded.
south - fair
The south horizon shows a slight brightening. Workable for most targets above about 10 degrees elevation.
south-south-west - marginal
The south-south-west horizon is brighter than natural. Faint stars are suppressed up to roughly 15-20 degrees elevation.
south-west - marginal
Persistent skyglow on the south-west horizon. Faint stars near the ground in this direction are lost.
west-south-west - marginal
The west-south-west horizon is brighter than natural. Faint stars are suppressed up to roughly 15-20 degrees elevation.
west - fair
The west horizon shows a slight brightening. Workable for most targets above about 10 degrees elevation.
west-north-west - fair
Subtle skyglow on the west-north-west horizon. Faint stars below about 10 degrees here are slightly suppressed.
north-west - fair
Subtle skyglow on the north-west horizon. Faint stars below about 10 degrees here are slightly suppressed.
north-north-west - good
Clean horizon to the north-north-west. Star counts remain high near the ground.
zenith - poor
Overhead is heavily light-polluted. Only stars brighter than about magnitude 3 are visible.
-
Al Majjatia Oulad Taleb, Casablanca-Settat
- Direction
- SE
- Distance (km)
- 17.6
- SQM
- 19.09
- Bortle
- 7
-
Hay Errabii حي الربيع, Casablanca-Settat
- Direction
- S
- Distance (km)
- 35
- SQM
- 19.55
- Bortle
- 7
-
Oulad M'Hamed, Casablanca-Settat
- Direction
- SE
- Distance (km)
- 70.6
- SQM
- 20.24
- Bortle
- 6
-
Sidi Ettiji سيدي تيجي, Marrakech-Safi
- Direction
- SW
- Distance (km)
- 197.4
- SQM
- 20.89
- Bortle
- 4
-
Mzefroune, Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima
- Direction
- NE
- Distance (km)
- 228.6
- SQM
- 20.73
- Bortle
- 5