Hobart Stargazing & Astronomy Report

Light pollution and stargazing locations near Hobart

City
Hobart
Country
Australia
Latitude
-42.8821
Longitude
147.3272

Key Sky Quality Metrics

SQM (mag/arcsec²)
18.69
Bortle class
Class 8 (Class 8)
Darkness Quotient
30%
Dataset
March 2026

City sky

Stargazing in Hobart

Hobart is Tasmania’s capital, a small but characterful southern city on Australia’s island state, known for its harbour setting and close relationship with surrounding wild country.

The city generally experiences High Light Pollution, with a Darkness Quotient of 30% — darker than many major global metros, but still firmly on the bright side for astronomy.

For practical observing from within the city, the most reliable targets are the Moon, bright planets, double stars and the brightest open clusters. A few showpiece deep-sky objects can be attempted with care, but faint galaxies, nebulae and the richer sweep of the Milky Way are heavily subdued by the urban glow.

The encouraging part is that meaningfully darker skies are not especially far away. A reasonable dark-sky escape begins at around 40 kilometres to the east-south-east near Near Tasmania, with even darker conditions available farther out to the east near Near Northern Midlands, Tasmania.

The map shows Hobart as a compact but clear island of brightness, with a yellow-red core surrounded by blue and grey glow. That pattern suggests a concentrated urban light dome rather than a vast sprawl, with the strongest brightness tightly centred on the city itself.

Beyond the core, the glow falls away fairly quickly in several directions, which is one of Hobart’s real advantages. Large areas around the city turn dark on the map, especially away from the brighter pockets to the north, showing that Tasmania’s surrounding countryside is much darker than the city proper.

There is also a separate bright cluster to the north, with a faint bridge of glow between it and Hobart. In practical terms, that means some horizons will feel more affected than others, while the south, west and parts of the east look comparatively favourable once you get beyond the immediate urban halo.

How the sky overhead feels from the city

Looking straight up from Hobart, the zenith sits in Bortle 8 territory, so the sky overhead is noticeably washed out rather than truly dark. Familiar bright constellations still come through, but the background sky never takes on that deep black appearance seen from rural Tasmania.

You can expect the Moon and planets to look fine overhead, and the brighter stars will still define the main seasonal patterns clearly enough. What tends to go missing is the fainter scaffolding between them, along with the subtler texture of star clouds and dim deep-sky objects.

For casual city observing that is still workable, but it does mean overhead darkness is much poorer than the surrounding countryside. To really appreciate Tasmania’s richer star fields, a drive out of the urban light dome makes a very noticeable difference.

north - good

About 15 kilometres north of Hobart, the sky is already good, at roughly Bortle 4. Darker Bortle 3 conditions arrive around 25 kilometres out, with truly excellent skies farther on.

north-north-east - good

About 15 kilometres to the north-north-east, conditions are good and around Bortle 4. A stronger jump to dark-sky territory appears at roughly 25 kilometres, with even darker skies beyond that.

north-east - good

At around 15 kilometres to the north-east, the sky reaches good quality, around Bortle 4. By roughly 25 kilometres it improves to Bortle 3, and much darker rural skies are available farther out.

east-north-east - marginal

Around 15 kilometres east-north-east of the city, the sky is still only marginal, at about Bortle 6. The improvement comes a little farther out here, with dark-sky conditions reached at roughly 25 kilometres.

east - good

At about 15 kilometres due east, the sky is good, around Bortle 4. Darker Bortle 3 conditions are reached by roughly 25 kilometres, with excellent darkness continuing farther out.

east-south-east - good

Around 15 kilometres east-south-east, the sky is already good, at about Bortle 4. By roughly 25 kilometres this direction reaches Bortle 3, making it one of the stronger routes out of the city glow.

south-east - good

At roughly 15 kilometres to the south-east, conditions are good and around Bortle 4. A little farther on, near 25 kilometres, the sky improves again to Bortle 3.

south-south-east - good

Around 15 kilometres south-south-east of Hobart, the sky is good, sitting near Bortle 4. Darker skies follow at about 25 kilometres, with very dark conditions farther out again.

south - good

At about 15 kilometres to the south, the sky is good, around Bortle 4. By roughly 25 kilometres, this direction reaches Bortle 3 and becomes much more rewarding for deep-sky observing.

south-south-west - good

Around 15 kilometres south-south-west, the sky is good and close to Bortle 4. Darker Bortle 3 skies are available by roughly 25 kilometres, with excellent darkness beyond that.

south-west - good

At around 15 kilometres to the south-west, conditions are good, around Bortle 4. The sky improves to Bortle 3 by roughly 25 kilometres, so this is another promising escape direction.

west-south-west - good

The west-south-west stands out because by about 15 kilometres the sky is already good to dark-sky standard, at Bortle 3. Farther out it keeps improving, reaching excellent rural darkness beyond that.

west - good

Due west is one of Hobart’s better directions, with Bortle 3 skies reached by around 15 kilometres. Continue farther and the darkness improves again into excellent territory.

west-north-west - good

At about 15 kilometres west-north-west, the sky is good, around Bortle 4. The stronger improvement takes longer here, with excellent dark skies appearing at roughly 50 kilometres.

north-west - good

Around 15 kilometres to the north-west, conditions are good, at about Bortle 4. Darker Bortle 3 skies arrive by roughly 25 kilometres, with very dark conditions farther out.

north-north-west - fair

The north-north-west is a little brighter close to the city, with fair conditions around Bortle 5 at roughly 15 kilometres. It does improve to good skies by about 25 kilometres, and excellent darkness arrives farther out.

zenith - poor

Looking straight up from central Hobart, the zenith is poor for dark-sky observing, at Bortle 8. The main constellations and brighter stars are still easy enough to trace, but the background sky is bright and many fainter stars are lost.

That means the overhead view works best for the Moon, planets and a handful of bright showpiece targets. The Milky Way’s finer structure and the subtler star fields that make Tasmania so special need a darker site outside the city.

  • Near Northern Midlands, Tasmania
    Direction
    E
    Distance (km)
    110.8
    SQM
    21.73
    Bortle
    2

    Milky Way, faint nebulae, deep-sky imaging

  • Near Tasmania
    Direction
    NW
    Distance (km)
    137.3
    SQM
    21.66
    Bortle
    3

    Milky Way visible, broadband DSO imaging

  • Near Tasmania
    Direction
    ESE
    Distance (km)
    42.4
    SQM
    21.58
    Bortle
    3

    Milky Way visible, broadband DSO imaging

Hobart is relatively well placed for anyone willing to leave the city lights behind, as genuinely dark skies are reachable with a modest drive.

The nearest strong step up is about 40 kilometres to the east-south-east at Near Tasmania, where conditions reach Bortle 3. If you are prepared to go farther, the darkest listed option is around 110 kilometres to the east at Near Northern Midlands, Tasmania, where the sky improves again to Bortle 2.

  • Within 50 km
    Place
    Near Tasmania
    Direction
    ESE
    Distance (km)
    42.4
    SQM
    21.58
    Bortle
    3
  • Within 200 km
    Place
    Near Northern Midlands, Tasmania
    Direction
    E
    Distance (km)
    110.8
    SQM
    21.73
    Bortle
    2

Long-term sky trend

Hobart’s night sky has been fairly stable over the long term, though the overall direction is slightly brighter rather than darker. The mean reading across the series is 18.72 SQM, with recorded values ranging from 18.54 to 18.91 SQM.

The earliest reading in the series is 18.78 SQM, compared with 18.69 SQM in the latest data. That works out as a very gentle decline of about 0.01 SQM per year, so the change is real but not dramatic on a year-to-year basis.

In plain terms, observers in Hobart are dealing with a city sky that has not transformed radically, but nor has it been improving. The underlying picture is one of steady urban brightness with only modest variation across the years.

From within Hobart itself, the strongest choices are bright, high-contrast objects that can punch through the city glow. The Moon, planets, double stars and the brightest open clusters are the most dependable targets.

A few classic deep-sky showpieces can still be tried, especially with optical aid and careful expectations. Bright nebulae such as M42 and the brightest globular clusters are possible, but they will not show the contrast or subtle detail they gain under darker skies.

For the Milky Way, faint galaxies, broad diffuse nebulae and meteor watching, the city is the wrong setting. Hobart’s real advantage is that much darker skies are accessible without an especially long journey, so it is quite feasible to match city observing with regular trips to darker ground.

  • Moon
  • planets
  • double stars
  • brightest open clusters
  • bright nebulae such as M42
  • the brightest globular clusters
  • Milky Way
  • faint galaxies
  • broadband nebulae
  • meteor showers

Can you see stars from Hobart?

Yes — plenty of bright stars are visible from Hobart, and the main constellations are still easy to recognise. What light pollution does is remove many of the fainter stars, so the sky looks simpler and less richly filled in than it would from rural Tasmania.

Can you see the Milky Way from Hobart?

From the city itself, the Milky Way is usually heavily washed out and lacks the dramatic structure you would hope for in Tasmania. For a proper Milky Way view, it is much better to head out to darker surroundings.

What Bortle class is Hobart?

Hobart is Bortle 8, which is a bright city sky. That is good enough for the Moon, planets and brighter star patterns, but it strongly limits faint deep-sky observing.

What is the SQM in Hobart?

The measured sky brightness for Hobart is 18.69 SQM. In practical terms, that points to a noticeably light-polluted urban sky rather than a dark one.

Where are the nearest dark skies to Hobart?

The nearest listed dark-sky site is Near Tasmania, about 42.4 kilometres to the east-south-east, where conditions reach Bortle 3. An even darker listed option is Near Northern Midlands, Tasmania, about 110.8 kilometres to the east, at Bortle 2.

Is Hobart good for astrophotography?

It can be good for lunar, planetary and bright-target astrophotography from within the city, but wide-field Milky Way work and faint deep-sky imaging benefit greatly from leaving the urban glow behind. Hobart is helped by the fact that much darker skies are reachable with a moderate drive.

How far do you need to drive from Hobart for darker skies?

A clear improvement is available after roughly 40 kilometres, with Near Tasmania reaching Bortle 3. If you want an even darker result, Near Northern Midlands, Tasmania is about 110.8 kilometres away and reaches Bortle 2.