El Paso Stargazing & Astronomy Report
Light pollution and stargazing locations near El Paso
- City
- El Paso
- Country
- United States
- Latitude
- 31.7619
- Longitude
- -106.4850
Key Sky Quality Metrics
- SQM (mag/arcsec²)
- 17.70
- Bortle class
- Class 9 (Class 9)
- Darkness Quotient
- 21%
- Dataset
- May 2026
Inner city sky
El Paso: The Practical Verdict
El Paso, a mid-size city in Texas, presents stargazers with considerable obstacles due to high light pollution. The overall sky quality here is a severe urban sky, making it unsuitable for deep-sky observations. The brightest area of the sky is towards the south-east, while the west-south-west horizon offers the clearest view.
From here, the Moon, planets, and bright stars can still be observed without much difficulty, and narrowband imaging is feasible if handled with care. However, the Milky Way remains invisible, and deep-sky objects like nebulae or galaxies are not practical targets. Most meteor showers would also be challenging to appreciate due to the light pollution.
For a marked improvement, the dark skies of Catron County, New Mexico, located about 290 km north-west, offer a more promising experience for serious deep-sky observation with a Bortle 3 rating.
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
- Catron County, New Mexico sits about 292 km north west and reaches Bortle 3, roughly 35x darker.
- Good dark window
- El Paso'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 El Paso?
No. El Paso is a Bortle Class 9 sky with SQM 17.70, 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 El Paso?
El Paso is Bortle Class 9 (SQM 17.70), a severe urban sky for astronomy.
Is El Paso good for stargazing?
Not for serious deep-sky observing. El Paso is a severe urban sky where the Moon, planets, and a handful of bright targets are the realistic options from the city itself.
Is El Paso good for astrophotography?
Broadband deep-sky imaging is heavily compromised from El Paso and a Bortle 4 or darker site is strongly recommended. Even narrowband imaging is difficult from El Paso without careful processing.
What can you observe from El Paso?
Primary targets from El Paso 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 El Paso?
The closest meaningfully darker mapped site is Culberson County, Texas, about 178 km east of El Paso, reaching Bortle 5.
When is the sky darkest in El Paso?
The sky over El Paso is darkest around January, December.
Is light pollution in El Paso getting better or worse?
The long-term trend for El Paso is gradually worsening, with the sky brightening by about 0.05 SQM per year.
north - fair
Mild brightening on the north horizon. Faint stars at the very lowest elevation are dimmed; otherwise unaffected.
north-north-east - marginal
Moderate brightening on the north-north-east horizon. Star counts at low elevation here are reduced.
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 - marginal
Persistent skyglow on the east horizon. Faint stars near the ground in this direction are lost.
east-south-east - marginal
A soft but obvious glow marks the east-south-east horizon. The lowest 15-20 degrees of sky in this direction are degraded.
south-east - poor
Bright skyglow dominates the lower south-east sky. This direction is not suitable for faint-object work at low elevation.
south-south-east - poor
A bright dome of skyglow sits on the south-south-east horizon. Faint stars are suppressed up to roughly 25 degrees elevation.
south - marginal
Moderate brightening on the south horizon. Star counts at low elevation here are reduced.
south-south-west - fair
Subtle skyglow on the south-south-west horizon. Faint stars below about 10 degrees here are slightly suppressed.
south-west - good
No visible glow on the south-west horizon. Stars are clear down to low elevation in this direction.
west-south-west - good
The west-south-west horizon is free of artificial brightening. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground.
west - fair
A small artificial brightening near the west horizon. Star counts in this direction remain high above the lowest elevations.
west-north-west - fair
A small artificial brightening near the west-north-west horizon. Star counts in this direction remain high above the lowest elevations.
north-west - marginal
Moderate brightening on the north-west horizon. Star counts at low elevation here are reduced.
north-north-west - fair
The north-north-west horizon is mostly dark with a hint of light pollution. Faint stars are accessible above about 10 degrees.
zenith - poor
Strong light pollution at the zenith. Limiting magnitude is around 3 to the unaided eye.
-
Culberson County, Texas
- Direction
- E
- Distance (km)
- 178.2
- SQM
- 20.33
- Bortle
- 5
-
Catron County, New Mexico
- Direction
- NW
- Distance (km)
- 292
- SQM
- 21.57
- Bortle
- 3
-
Cochise County, Arizona
- Direction
- W
- Distance (km)
- 279.2
- SQM
- 21.22
- Bortle
- 4