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
- August 2026
City sky
Hobart: The Practical Verdict
Hobart, a small city in Tasmania, offers a night sky heavily influenced by urban light pollution. The overall verdict is a poor city sky, with the Milky Way completely invisible. High light pollution remains the primary constraint on observing conditions.
From Hobart, you will mostly see bright targets like the Moon, planets, and prominent stars. Narrowband imaging can be attempted with care; however, broadband galaxies and deep-sky observing are best avoided. The eastern horizon is particularly bright, so focus your viewing towards the west-south-west for slightly cleaner skies.
For better conditions, South Bruny, about 45 km to the south, provides a significant upgrade. Offering a much darker sky, it opens options for serious deep-sky observing, making the effort worthwhile for dedicated astronomers.
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
- South Bruny, Tasmania sits about 45 km south and reaches Bortle 2, roughly 17x darker.
- Good dark window
- Hobart's longest dark windows fall in June and July, with the shortest nights around December and January. For deep-sky imaging, winter gives the best combination of long nights and true astronomical darkness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you see the Milky Way from Hobart?
No. Hobart is a Bortle Class 8 sky with SQM 18.69, 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 Hobart?
Hobart is Bortle Class 8 (SQM 18.69), a poor city sky for astronomy.
Is Hobart good for stargazing?
Not for serious deep-sky observing. Hobart is a poor city sky where the Moon, planets, and a handful of bright targets are the realistic options from the city itself.
Is Hobart good for astrophotography?
Broadband deep-sky imaging is heavily compromised from Hobart and a Bortle 4 or darker site is strongly recommended. Even narrowband imaging is difficult from Hobart without careful processing.
What can you observe from Hobart?
Primary targets from Hobart 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 Hobart?
The closest meaningfully darker mapped site is Nugent, Tasmania, about 39 km east north east of Hobart, reaching Bortle 4.
When is the sky darkest in Hobart?
The sky over Hobart is darkest around June, July.
Is light pollution in Hobart getting better or worse?
Long-term light pollution over Hobart has been broadly stable across the available measurements.
north - good
The north horizon is dark. Faint stars are visible close to the ground.
north-north-east - good
The north-north-east horizon is dark. Faint stars are visible close to the ground.
north-east - good
Dark sky in the north-east direction with no obvious skyglow. Suitable for faint-object work at low elevation.
east-north-east - good
Dark sky in the east-north-east direction with no obvious skyglow. Suitable for faint-object work at low elevation.
east - good
Dark horizon to the east. Faint stars and extended objects in this direction behave much as they do overhead.
east-south-east - excellent
The east-south-east horizon is dark to the unaided eye. Faint stars are visible at the lowest elevations.
south-east - excellent
The south-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.
south-south-east - excellent
No artificial glow on the south-south-east horizon. Faint deep-sky objects in this direction are accessible at low elevation.
south - good
The south sky is dark to the horizon. Faint targets are accessible at all elevations here.
south-south-west - good
The south-south-west horizon is dark. Faint stars are visible close to the ground.
south-west - excellent
Dark sky to the south-west horizon. The Milky Way can be traced to the ground in this direction.
west-south-west - excellent
Dark sky to the west-south-west horizon. The Milky Way can be traced to the ground in this direction.
west - excellent
The 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-north-west - excellent
The west-north-west horizon is dark to the unaided eye. Faint stars are visible at the lowest elevations.
north-west - good
No noticeable light pollution to the north-west. The sky in this direction is dark to the horizon.
north-north-west - good
The north-north-west sky is dark to the horizon. Faint targets are accessible at all elevations here.
zenith - marginal
The overhead sky is too bright for faint-object work. Bright stars, planets, and the brighter clusters are accessible.
-
South Bruny, Tasmania
- Direction
- S
- Distance (km)
- 45.1
- SQM
- 21.74
- Bortle
- 2
-
Premaydena, Tasmania
- Direction
- ESE
- Distance (km)
- 41
- SQM
- 21.51
- Bortle
- 3
-
Nugent, Tasmania
- Direction
- ENE
- Distance (km)
- 38.7
- SQM
- 21.20
- Bortle
- 4
-
Surges Bay, Tasmania
- Direction
- SSW
- Distance (km)
- 51.7
- SQM
- 21.62
- Bortle
- 3
-
Hartz Peak, Tasmania
- Direction
- SW
- Distance (km)
- 61.2
- SQM
- 21.66
- Bortle
- 3
-
Southwest, Tasmania
- Direction
- WSW
- Distance (km)
- 66.4
- SQM
- 21.73
- Bortle
- 2