Coquitlam Stargazing & Astronomy Report

Light pollution and stargazing locations near Coquitlam

City
Coquitlam
Country
Canada
Latitude
49.2838
Longitude
-122.7932

Key Sky Quality Metrics

SQM (mag/arcsec²)
18.18
Bortle class
Class 8 (Class 8)
Darkness Quotient
24%
Dataset
April 2026

City sky

Coquitlam: The Practical Verdict

Coquitlam, a small city in British Columbia, lies within an area of high light pollution, resulting in poor astronomical observing conditions. The urban sky is bright enough to completely obscure the Milky Way, limiting the visible targets predominantly to the Moon, planets, and bright stars.

Under these conditions, detailed visual observing of deep-sky features or meteor showers is impractical. Focusing sessions on narrowband imaging techniques allows some success with brighter nebulae, though broadband imaging will struggle against severe background gradients. The cleanest skies are typically to the north-north-east, offering limited improvement near the horizon.

To significantly enhance observations, travelling about two hours north-west to Area C (Lois Lake/Saltery Bay) is recommended. This site provides much darker skies suitable for serious deep-sky exploration, with an evident improvement in conditions compared to Coquitlam.

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
Area C (Lois Lake/Saltery Bay), British Columbia sits about 122 km north west and reaches Bortle 2, roughly 26x darker.
Moderate dark window
Coquitlam'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 Coquitlam?

No. Coquitlam is a Bortle Class 8 sky with SQM 18.18, 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 Coquitlam?

Coquitlam is Bortle Class 8 (SQM 18.18), a poor city sky for astronomy.

Is Coquitlam good for stargazing?

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

Is Coquitlam good for astrophotography?

Broadband deep-sky imaging is heavily compromised from Coquitlam and a Bortle 4 or darker site is strongly recommended. Even narrowband imaging is difficult from Coquitlam without careful processing.

What can you observe from Coquitlam?

Primary targets from Coquitlam 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 Coquitlam?

The closest meaningfully darker mapped site is Area F (West Howe Sound), British Columbia, about 62 km west north west of Coquitlam, reaching Bortle 5.

When is the sky darkest in Coquitlam?

The sky over Coquitlam is darkest around January, December.

Is light pollution in Coquitlam getting better or worse?

Long-term light pollution over Coquitlam 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 - good

No visible glow on the north-north-east horizon. Stars are clear down to low elevation in this direction.

north-east - good

Clean horizon to the north-east. Star counts remain high near the ground.

east-north-east - good

Clean horizon to the east-north-east. Star counts remain high near the ground.

east - good

The east sky shows no obvious glow at ground level. Faint stars are clear at low elevation.

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 - marginal

A soft but obvious glow marks the south-east horizon. The lowest 15-20 degrees of sky in this direction are degraded.

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 - marginal

The south horizon is brighter than natural. Faint stars are suppressed up to roughly 15-20 degrees elevation.

south-south-west - poor

The south-south-west horizon is bright with artificial light. Only stars brighter than magnitude 3 are visible at low elevation.

south-west - poor

The south-west horizon is bright with artificial light. Only stars brighter than magnitude 3 are visible at low elevation.

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 - marginal

A soft but obvious glow marks the west horizon. The lowest 15-20 degrees of sky in this direction are degraded.

west-north-west - fair

Subtle skyglow on the west-north-west horizon. Faint stars below about 10 degrees here are slightly suppressed.

north-west - good

The north-west horizon is free of artificial brightening. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground.

north-north-west - good

Clean horizon to the north-north-west. Star counts remain high near the ground.

zenith - marginal

Light pollution affects most of the overhead sky. Star counts are a fraction of a dark site.

  • Southern Gulf Islands Electoral Area, British Columbia
    Direction
    SW
    Distance (km)
    67.1
    SQM
    21.03
    Bortle
    4
  • Area F (West Howe Sound), British Columbia
    Direction
    WNW
    Distance (km)
    61.9
    SQM
    20.66
    Bortle
    5
  • 81, Washington
    Direction
    S
    Distance (km)
    77.4
    SQM
    20.88
    Bortle
    4
  • Area C (Lois Lake/Saltery Bay), British Columbia
    Direction
    NW
    Distance (km)
    122.3
    SQM
    21.71
    Bortle
    2
  • Area F (Cowichan Lake South / Skutz Falls), British Columbia
    Direction
    WSW
    Distance (km)
    123.5
    SQM
    21.37
    Bortle
    3
  • Area D (Sproat Lake), British Columbia
    Direction
    W
    Distance (km)
    182.7
    SQM
    21.63
    Bortle
    3