Gloucester Stargazing & Astronomy Report
Light pollution and stargazing locations near Gloucester
- City
- Gloucester
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Latitude
- 51.8642
- Longitude
- -2.2380
Key Sky Quality Metrics
- SQM (mag/arcsec²)
- 19.00
- Bortle class
- Class 7 (Class 7)
- Darkness Quotient
- 33%
- Dataset
- August 2026
Suburban/urban transition
Gloucester: The Practical Verdict
Gloucester, a small city in Gloucestershire, sits under a sky suffering from high light pollution. The overall quality of the sky is poor for astronomy, with significant urban and suburban interference. The primary limiting factor here is the pervasive light pollution, rendering the sky suitable only for the brightest of objects.
From Gloucester, the Milky Way is not visible, leaving the Moon, planets, and bright double stars as the most feasible targets. Bright open clusters are also visible, and narrowband imaging can be pursued with careful processing. However, globular clusters and nebulae are challenging, and deep-sky observations or photography struggle under these conditions.
To improve your stargazing experience, consider a trip to Llancowrid, which is around a two-hour drive north-west. This site offers a substantially darker sky, under which serious deep-sky observing is possible.
At a Glance
- Overall
- Poor urban/suburban sky - This is a poor sky for astronomy. The Moon, planets, and a few bright objects remain viable, but deep-sky work is difficult.
- Milky Way
- Not visible - The Milky Way is not realistically visible from this level of light pollution.
- Best targets from here
- Moon, planets, bright double stars, bright open clusters, narrowband imaging with careful processing
- Do not prioritise
- visual deep-sky observing, broadband galaxies, reflection nebulae, Milky Way photography
- Best nearby upgrade
- Llancowrid sits about 96 km north west and reaches Bortle 3, roughly 9.5x darker.
- Moderate dark window
- Gloucester's limiting factor is not only light pollution. Around midsummer, Gloucester loses true astronomical darkness entirely, so deep-sky observing and imaging are strongly seasonal. Plan serious sessions around the darker months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you see the Milky Way from Gloucester?
No. Gloucester is a Bortle Class 7 sky with SQM 19.00, 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 Gloucester?
Gloucester is Bortle Class 7 (SQM 19.00), a poor urban/suburban sky for astronomy.
Is Gloucester good for stargazing?
Not for serious deep-sky observing. Gloucester is a poor urban/suburban sky where the Moon, planets, and a handful of bright targets are the realistic options from the city itself.
Is Gloucester good for astrophotography?
Broadband deep-sky imaging is heavily compromised from Gloucester and a Bortle 4 or darker site is strongly recommended. Narrowband imaging of bright emission nebulae remains viable from Gloucester with appropriate Ha or OIII filters.
What can you observe from Gloucester?
Primary targets from Gloucester include Moon, planets, bright double stars, bright open clusters, narrowband imaging with careful processing. Targets such as visual deep-sky observing, broadband galaxies, reflection nebulae are not realistic from this sky.
Where are darker skies near Gloucester?
The closest meaningfully darker mapped site is Twyn-y-Sheriff, about 43 km west south west of Gloucester, reaching Bortle 5.
When is the sky darkest in Gloucester?
The sky over Gloucester is darkest around January, December. Significant summer limitation: around 63 nights per year have no true astronomical darkness.
Is light pollution in Gloucester getting better or worse?
Long-term light pollution over Gloucester has been broadly stable across the available measurements.
north - excellent
The north sky is dark to the horizon. Faint stars and the Milky Way reach the ground in this direction on clear nights.
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
The north-east horizon is free of artificial brightening. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground.
east-north-east - good
No visible glow on the east-north-east horizon. Stars are clear down to low elevation in this direction.
east - good
No visible glow on the east horizon. Stars are clear down to low elevation in this direction.
east-south-east - good
The east-south-east sky shows no obvious glow at ground level. Faint stars are clear at low elevation.
south-east - excellent
No skyglow to the south-east. Stars are visible to the naked-eye limit at all elevations in this direction.
south-south-east - good
Clean, dark sky to the south-south-east. No visible artificial light source affects this quarter.
south - good
No visible glow on the south horizon. Stars are clear down to low elevation in this direction.
south-south-west - good
No visible glow on the south-south-west horizon. Stars are clear down to low elevation in this direction.
south-west - good
Clean horizon to the south-west. Star counts remain high near the ground.
west-south-west - good
Clean, dark sky to the west-south-west. No visible artificial light source affects this quarter.
west - good
Clean horizon to the west. Star counts remain high near the ground.
west-north-west - excellent
The west-north-west sky is dark to the horizon with no visible artificial brightening. Faint extended objects are accessible at low elevation.
north-west - excellent
Fully dark sky to the north-west. This is among the cleaner directions from this site.
north-north-west - excellent
The north-north-west sky is dark to the horizon with no visible artificial brightening. Faint extended objects are accessible at low elevation.
zenith - fair
The overhead sky background is somewhat elevated. Faint stars are partially suppressed but bright targets are clear.
-
Twyn-y-Sheriff
- Direction
- WSW
- Distance (km)
- 42.9
- SQM
- 20.66
- Bortle
- 5
-
Great Bedwyn
- Direction
- SE
- Distance (km)
- 68.2
- SQM
- 20.77
- Bortle
- 5
-
Hanborough
- Direction
- E
- Distance (km)
- 59.4
- SQM
- 20.55
- Bortle
- 5
-
Trallong
- Direction
- W
- Distance (km)
- 90.9
- SQM
- 21.35
- Bortle
- 3
-
Llancowrid
- Direction
- NW
- Distance (km)
- 95.6
- SQM
- 21.45
- Bortle
- 3
-
Longbridge Deverill
- Direction
- S
- Distance (km)
- 76.5
- SQM
- 20.93
- Bortle
- 4