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)
- 17.37
- Bortle class
- Class 9 (Class 9)
- Darkness Quotient
- 18%
- Dataset
- March 2026
Inner city sky
Stargazing in Casablanca
Casablanca is Morocco’s largest city and principal Atlantic port, a major economic hub on the country’s west coast with the character of a sprawling modern metropolis.
The city generally experiences Extreme Light Pollution, with a Darkness Quotient of just 18% — placing it among the more light-polluted major cities for astronomy.
In practical terms, brighter targets are the most realistic from within the city: the Moon, planets, double stars and the brightest open clusters. A few standout objects such as Orion Nebula and the brightest globular clusters can still be attempted, but faint galaxies, dim nebulae and the Milky Way are overwhelmed by the city glow.
Genuinely dark skies are not close to hand from Casablanca. The nearest reasonable step up is around 240 kilometres to the south-south-west near Mzoudia لمزوضية, Marrakech-Safi, while truly dark skies appear farther away at roughly 295 kilometres to the east near Enjil, Fez-Meknes.
The map shows Casablanca as a strong bright core on the Atlantic coast, with an intense white-pink centre surrounded by broad red, orange and yellow halos. That pattern is typical of a large, brightly lit urban area whose glow spreads well beyond the built-up centre.
The sea to the west falls away quickly into much darker tones, which helps explain why some western and north-western directions improve faster than those across land. Inland, the glow breaks into a network of smaller bright patches, showing surrounding towns and settlements that continue to brighten the horizon in many directions.
The darkest regions on the crop appear mainly farther offshore to the west and in more distant inland areas toward the east and south-east, where the colours shift into darker grey and black. Overall, Casablanca stands out clearly as the dominant source of light pollution in its immediate surroundings, with meaningful darkness only appearing well away from the metropolitan area.
What the sky overhead is like
Looking straight up from Casablanca, the sky is heavily light-polluted, with a zenith reading of 17.37 SQM. Even overhead, the background sky stays bright enough to wash out much of the fainter star field that would normally give the sky its depth.
The main constellations are still there, but they tend to look simplified, with only the brighter pattern stars standing out clearly. Instead of a richly textured sky, you are more likely to see a limited scattering of prominent stars against a grey-orange urban background.
For casual observing, that still leaves plenty to enjoy in the Moon and planets. For deep-sky work, though, the city’s overhead glow is strong enough that a proper trip away from Casablanca makes a dramatic difference.
north - marginal
About 15 kilometres north of Casablanca, the sky is still only marginal, around Bortle 6, so brighter stars and showpiece objects fare best. Conditions do improve steadily in this direction, with genuinely dark skies reached at about 100 kilometres.
north-north-east - marginal
Around 15 kilometres out to the north-north-east, conditions remain marginal at about Bortle 6. The sky becomes much better farther on, with genuinely dark conditions appearing at roughly 100 kilometres.
north-east - poor
At roughly 15 kilometres to the north-east, the sky is still poor at about Bortle 7, with strong urban skyglow lingering. It does improve with distance, but genuinely dark skies are not reached within the sampled range in this direction.
east-north-east - poor
Around 15 kilometres east-north-east of the city, the sky remains poor at about Bortle 8, so only the brighter targets are comfortable. Farther out the glow eases, reaching good rather than truly dark conditions by the edge of the sampled area.
east - poor
At about 15 kilometres east of Casablanca, the sky is still poor at roughly Bortle 7. It improves gradually, and genuinely dark skies are only reached much farther out at around 200 kilometres.
east-south-east - poor
Around 15 kilometres to the east-south-east, the sky remains poor at about Bortle 7. The improvement is more meaningful farther out, with genuinely dark conditions arriving at roughly 100 kilometres.
south-east - poor
At around 15 kilometres south-east of the city, conditions are still poor at about Bortle 7. Better skies do appear with distance, but genuinely dark conditions are only reached much farther out at around 200 kilometres.
south-south-east - poor
About 15 kilometres south-south-east of Casablanca, the sky is still poor at roughly Bortle 8. There is a worthwhile improvement farther out, with genuinely dark skies reached at about 100 kilometres.
south - poor
Around 15 kilometres due south, the sky remains poor at about Bortle 7, still strongly affected by the city’s light dome. Darker conditions become available farther away, with genuinely dark skies reached at roughly 100 kilometres.
south-south-west - poor
At about 15 kilometres south-south-west, the sky is still poor at roughly Bortle 8. The direction improves well beyond the immediate outskirts, with genuinely dark conditions reached at around 100 kilometres.
south-west - poor
Around 15 kilometres to the south-west, the sky remains poor at about Bortle 8. It becomes much better farther out, but genuinely dark skies are not reached within the sampled radius in this direction.
west-south-west - poor
At roughly 15 kilometres west-south-west of the city, conditions are still poor at about Bortle 8. There is a substantial payoff if you keep going, with excellent darkness reached only much farther out at around 200 kilometres.
west - poor
Around 15 kilometres due west, the sky is still poor at about Bortle 7 despite some improvement over the city centre. A much better step up appears farther out, with genuinely dark skies reached at roughly 100 kilometres.
west-north-west - marginal
At about 15 kilometres west-north-west of Casablanca, the sky has improved to marginal territory at around Bortle 6. This is one of the better directions to leave the city, with genuinely dark skies reached at about 100 kilometres and excellent darkness beyond that.
north-west - marginal
Around 15 kilometres north-west of the city, the sky is marginal at about Bortle 6, already better than many inland directions. This is one of Casablanca’s quickest routes to darkness, with genuinely dark skies reached at roughly 50 kilometres.
north-north-west - marginal
At about 15 kilometres north-north-west, the sky is marginal at around Bortle 6. It continues improving well, and genuinely dark skies arrive at roughly 50 kilometres.
zenith - poor
Looking straight up from Casablanca, the zenith is poor at Bortle 9, with a bright urban background rather than a naturally dark sky. Familiar constellations are still recognisable, but many fainter stars vanish, and the Milky Way is effectively lost in the glow.
-
Near Enjil, Fez-Meknes
- Direction
- E
- Distance (km)
- 295.4
- SQM
- 21.41
- Bortle
- 3
Milky Way visible, broadband DSO imaging
-
Near Skoura Ahl El Oust, Drâa-Tafilalet
- Direction
- SSE
- Distance (km)
- 309
- SQM
- 21.41
- Bortle
- 3
Milky Way visible, broadband DSO imaging
-
Near Mzoudia لمزوضية, Marrakech-Safi
- Direction
- SSW
- Distance (km)
- 239.5
- SQM
- 21.29
- Bortle
- 4
Bright nebulae, galaxies, narrowband imaging
Genuinely dark skies require a significant journey from Casablanca rather than a quick hop out of town.
The nearest reasonable darker site in the supplied nearby options is around 240 kilometres to the south-south-west, near Mzoudia لمزوضية, Marrakech-Safi, where skies reach Bortle 4. For a more truly dark experience, the best listed option is farther away at about 295 kilometres to the east near Enjil, Fez-Meknes.
If you head north-west or west, conditions improve more quickly than in many other directions, but from the city itself the sky remains heavily affected by urban light.
-
Within 500 km
- Place
- Near Enjil, Fez-Meknes
- Direction
- E
- Distance (km)
- 295.4
- SQM
- 21.41
- Bortle
- 3
Long-term trend
Casablanca’s night sky has shown a gradual brightening over the long term rather than any sign of recovery. The average reading across the available record is 17.61 SQM, with the best measured point at 17.92 SQM and the darkest recent value now down to 17.37 SQM.
From 2012 to the latest measurements, the trend runs at roughly -0.025 SQM per year, which is a modest but clear deterioration. In plain terms, that suggests the city’s already bright sky has become a little brighter over time, making faint-object observing steadily more difficult.
Because Casablanca starts from a very bright urban baseline, even small changes matter to observers. The practical result is that city-centre stargazing remains focused on the brightest showpiece objects.
From within Casablanca, the most rewarding targets are the bright, high-contrast ones that can punch through heavy skyglow. The Moon and planets are the obvious choices, and double stars also hold up well because they depend more on seeing than on dark skies.
A small number of deep-sky showpieces can still be attempted with patience, especially the brightest open clusters and a few standout nebulae or globulars. Even then, they tend to appear muted, with much less structure than they would show under darker skies.
For the Milky Way, faint nebulae, galaxies and richer meteor watching, a dedicated trip away from the city makes a huge difference. Casablanca is best treated as a bright-object observing base rather than a deep-sky location.
- 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 Casablanca?
Yes — you can still see stars from Casablanca, especially the brighter ones that outline the main constellations. What you lose are the fainter background stars, so the sky looks much less crowded than it would from a dark rural site.
Can you see the Milky Way from Casablanca?
In practical terms, no. With a city reading of 17.37 SQM and Bortle 9 conditions, the Milky Way is overwhelmed by skyglow.
What Bortle class is Casablanca?
Casablanca is Bortle Class 9, which is the inner-city end of the scale. That means very strong light pollution and a night sky dominated by artificial brightness.
How dark is the sky in Casablanca?
The measured sky brightness is 17.37 SQM, and the city’s Darkness Quotient is 18%. That places Casablanca in the Extreme Light Pollution tier.
Where are the nearest dark skies from Casablanca?
The nearest reasonable darker site listed here is near Mzoudia لمزوضية, Marrakech-Safi, about 240 kilometres to the south-south-west, where conditions reach Bortle 4. For darker still, Near Enjil, Fez-Meknes lies about 295 kilometres to the east with Bortle 3 skies.
Is Casablanca good for astrophotography?
It can work for lunar, planetary and some narrow-field bright-target astrophotography, but it is not ideal for faint deep-sky imaging from within the city. For wide-field Milky Way shots or cleaner galaxy and nebula work, a dark-sky trip is far more suitable.
How far do you need to drive from Casablanca for better stargazing?
A noticeable improvement needs more than a very short drive, and a truly worthwhile step up is around 240 kilometres away at the nearest listed Bortle 4 site. Some directions improve faster than others, especially towards the north-west, but proper dark-sky observing still means leaving the metropolitan glow well behind.