Hamba Wutang Stargazing & Astronomy Report
Light pollution and stargazing locations near Hamba Wutang
- City
- Hamba Wutang
- Country
- Indonesia
- Latitude
- -10.2550
- Longitude
- 120.4047
Key Sky Quality Metrics
- SQM (mag/arcsec²)
- 21.91
- Bortle class
- Class 2 (Class 2)
- Darkness Quotient
- 97%
- Dataset
- August 2026
Typical truly dark site
Hamba Wutang: The Practical Verdict
Hamba Wutang, located in the remote region of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia, is a pristine dark-sky site. The stargazing quality here is very strong, with a sky free from significant light pollution. The Milky Way is clearly visible, showing its structure and contrast beautifully on moonless nights.
From this location, observers can enjoy the splendour of galaxies, nebulae, and clusters, making it an excellent choice for broadband imaging and nightscape photography. Very low-altitude targets might pose a challenge, especially if transparency is compromised, but this is a minor concern given the overall sky clarity.
There is no pressing need to travel for an even darker sky, as Hamba Wutang already offers excellent conditions. While sites like Kecamatan Wulla Waijelu east-south-east offer slightly darker readings, this is already among the top-tier locations for stargazing.
At a Glance
- Overall
- Very strong dark sky - This is a very strong dark-sky location where the Milky Way, faint stars, nebulae, and galaxies are realistically accessible.
- Milky Way
- Clearly visible - The Milky Way should be prominent on moonless nights, with visible structure and strong contrast.
- Best targets from here
- Milky Way, galaxies, nebulae, globular clusters, open clusters, meteor showers
- Do not prioritise
- none due to light pollution alone
- Already a strong sky
- Hamba Wutang is already a strong astronomy location. There is no obvious reason to travel for a darker sky.
- Long dark window
- Hamba Wutang retains astronomical darkness throughout the year, so seasonality is less extreme than at higher latitudes. The main limitation is light pollution, not the length of the dark window.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you see the Milky Way from Hamba Wutang?
Yes. Hamba Wutang reaches Bortle 2, dark enough that the Milky Way is clearly visible on clear, moonless nights.
What Bortle class is Hamba Wutang?
Hamba Wutang is Bortle Class 2 (SQM 21.91), a very strong dark sky for astronomy.
Is Hamba Wutang good for stargazing?
Yes. Hamba Wutang is a very strong dark sky and supports serious stargazing including deep-sky observing.
Is Hamba Wutang good for astrophotography?
Broadband deep-sky imaging is realistic from Hamba Wutang. Narrowband imaging of bright emission nebulae remains viable from Hamba Wutang with appropriate Ha or OIII filters.
What can you observe from Hamba Wutang?
Primary targets from Hamba Wutang include Milky Way, galaxies, nebulae, globular clusters, open clusters. Targets such as none due to light pollution alone are not realistic from this sky.
Where are darker skies near Hamba Wutang?
No meaningfully darker mapped site was found within the search radius around Hamba Wutang.
When is the sky darkest in Hamba Wutang?
The sky over Hamba Wutang is darkest around May, June.
Is light pollution in Hamba Wutang getting better or worse?
Long-term light pollution over Hamba Wutang has been broadly stable across the available measurements.
north - excellent
The north horizon is fully dark. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground and the Milky Way reaches the horizon on clear nights.
north-north-east - excellent
Clean, fully dark horizon to the north-north-east. Star counts remain high right down to the ground.
north-east - excellent
No artificial glow on the north-east horizon. Faint deep-sky objects in this direction are accessible at low elevation.
east-north-east - excellent
Dark sky to the east-north-east horizon. The Milky Way can be traced to the ground in this direction.
east - excellent
The east horizon is fully dark. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground and the Milky Way reaches the horizon on clear nights.
east-south-east - excellent
No artificial glow on the east-south-east horizon. Faint deep-sky objects in this direction are accessible at low elevation.
south-east - excellent
Clean, fully dark horizon to the south-east. Star counts remain high right down to the ground.
south-south-east - excellent
Dark sky to the south-south-east horizon. The Milky Way can be traced to the ground in this direction.
south - excellent
Dark sky to the south horizon. The Milky Way can be traced to the ground in this direction.
south-south-west - excellent
Clean, fully dark horizon to the south-south-west. Star counts remain high right down to the ground.
south-west - excellent
The south-west horizon is dark to the unaided eye. Faint stars are visible at the lowest elevations.
west-south-west - excellent
The west-south-west horizon is fully dark. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground and the Milky Way reaches the horizon on clear nights.
west - excellent
Dark sky to the west horizon. The Milky Way can be traced to the ground in this direction.
west-north-west - excellent
Clean, fully dark horizon to the west-north-west. Star counts remain high right down to the ground.
north-west - excellent
The north-west horizon is fully dark. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground and the Milky Way reaches the horizon on clear nights.
north-north-west - excellent
The north-north-west horizon is dark to the unaided eye. Faint stars are visible at the lowest elevations.
zenith - excellent
Fully dark overhead sky. Faint Messier objects are visible to the unaided eye and the Milky Way is structured.
-
Kecamatan Wulla Waijelu, East Nusa Tenggara
- Direction
- ESE
- Distance (km)
- 5
- SQM
- 21.92
- Bortle
- 2
-
Pasimarannu, South Sulawesi
- Direction
- N
- Distance (km)
- 342.3
- SQM
- 21.94
- Bortle
- 2