Hollywood Stargazing & Astronomy Report
Light pollution and stargazing locations near Hollywood
- City
- Hollywood
- Country
- United States
- Latitude
- 26.0112
- Longitude
- -80.1495
Key Sky Quality Metrics
- SQM (mag/arcsec²)
- 17.59
- Bortle class
- Class 9 (Class 9)
- Darkness Quotient
- 20%
- Dataset
- March 2026
Inner city sky
Stargazing in Hollywood
Hollywood is a densely built coastal city in South Florida, part of the wider Miami metropolitan strip and known for its urban shoreline setting between the Atlantic and the Everglades.
The city generally experiences Extreme Light Pollution, with a Darkness Quotient of 20% — placing it among the most light-polluted urban skies in the United States.
For practical observing from within the city, the most realistic targets are the Moon, planets, double stars and the brightest open clusters. Fainter deep-sky objects are largely washed out by the urban glow, though a few showpiece objects can still be attempted with patience.
Meaningfully darker skies are not close at hand, and a proper improvement needs roughly a 100-kilometre journey. The nearest reasonable dark-sky option is west, near Near Collier County, Florida, with another similarly strong option to the south-west near Near Monroe County, Florida.
The map shows Hollywood embedded in one of the brightest continuous light domes in southern Florida, with intense white-pink and red tones running along the south-eastern side of the peninsula. That pattern points to heavy, uninterrupted urban lighting rather than an isolated bright patch, so the city blends into a much larger metropolitan glow.
Away from the coast, the colours soften through yellow, green and blue toward the interior and especially toward the west, showing that the strongest improvement comes by heading inland. The east side remains badly affected by broad coastal light spill, while darker regions appear farther west and south-west where the bright urban belt thins out.
Compared with its surroundings, Hollywood is very much on the bright side of the regional picture. Nearby areas may improve a little, but the map suggests that genuinely darker skies only begin once you are well clear of the main south Florida conurbation.
Looking straight up from Hollywood
Looking straight up from Hollywood, the zenith is heavily affected by urban skyglow rather than being a refuge from it. With a Bortle 9 sky overhead, the background remains bright enough to suppress much of the finer star field even well above the horizon.
The familiar brighter patterns of the sky are still there, but they appear with reduced richness and contrast. You can expect the Moon and planets to stand out easily, while dimmer constellational stars and subtler Milky Way structure are effectively lost.
For casual observing that still leaves a few enjoyable targets, but for deep-sky work the overhead sky is simply too bright to show Hollywood at its best.
north - poor
At around 15 kilometres north of Hollywood, the sky is still poor, remaining in Bortle 9 territory with very heavy light pollution. It does improve with distance, but genuinely dark conditions are not reached until roughly 200 kilometres in that direction.
north-north-east - poor
About 15 kilometres to the north-north-east, conditions are still poor, though a little better than the city centre at Bortle 8. The sky improves steadily that way, with good conditions appearing farther out and genuinely dark skies only around 200 kilometres away.
north-east - poor
A short drive to the north-east still leaves you under a poor sky at about Bortle 7 around the 15-kilometre mark. This is one of the more promising directions, however, with genuinely dark skies becoming reachable at about 100 kilometres.
east-north-east - marginal
Around 15 kilometres east-north-east, the sky improves to marginal quality at Bortle 6, so brighter objects begin to look a little cleaner. If you keep going, substantially darker skies are reachable at about 100 kilometres in this direction.
east - marginal
Roughly 15 kilometres east of Hollywood, the sky is marginal at Bortle 6 rather than truly dark. Continued travel brings a much better improvement, with dark skies reached at about 100 kilometres.
east-south-east - marginal
At around 15 kilometres east-south-east, you are still under a marginal Bortle 6 sky, with urban glow very much present. Darker conditions become much more worthwhile farther out, with genuinely dark skies appearing at about 100 kilometres.
south-east - poor
About 15 kilometres to the south-east, the sky remains poor at Bortle 7, so only the brighter night-sky targets are practical. The outlook improves at greater distance, with genuinely dark skies reached at around 100 kilometres.
south-south-east - poor
Around 15 kilometres south-south-east, conditions are still poor at Bortle 8, with strong skyglow dominating the view. A much better sky is available farther out, and genuinely dark conditions appear at about 100 kilometres.
south - poor
At roughly 15 kilometres south of the city, the sky is still poor at Bortle 8. There is a strong improvement with distance, and genuinely dark skies become available at around 100 kilometres in this direction.
south-south-west - poor
A short drive south-south-west leaves you under a poor Bortle 9 sky, with little practical gain at first. Conditions improve markedly farther out, with good skies around 100 kilometres and genuinely dark skies only around 200 kilometres away.
south-west - poor
At around 15 kilometres south-west, the sky is still poor at Bortle 9, so the urban glow remains dominant. This direction eventually becomes much better, with good skies by about 100 kilometres and genuinely dark conditions farther on at around 200 kilometres.
west-south-west - poor
Roughly 15 kilometres west-south-west of Hollywood, the sky remains poor at Bortle 9 with only minimal relief from city brightness. A proper step up arrives much farther out, and genuinely dark skies are reached at about 100 kilometres.
west - poor
About 15 kilometres west, conditions are still poor at Bortle 9, so this is not yet a dark-sky escape. The direction does improve well with distance, reaching good skies farther out and genuinely dark conditions only around 200 kilometres away.
west-north-west - poor
Around 15 kilometres west-north-west, the sky is still poor at Bortle 8, with noticeable urban wash across the sky. It improves further out, but genuinely dark skies are not reached within the sampled range in this direction.
north-west - poor
At roughly 15 kilometres north-west, the sky remains poor at Bortle 9, so there is little benefit for serious observing close to the city. Conditions do become better with distance, but genuinely dark skies are not reached within the sampled range in this direction.
north-north-west - poor
About 15 kilometres north-north-west, the sky is still poor at Bortle 9 and strongly affected by urban light. There is some improvement farther out, but genuinely dark skies are not reached within the sampled range in this direction.
zenith - poor
Looking straight up from Hollywood, the zenith is poor, corresponding to a Bortle 9 inner-city sky. The brightest constellations are still recognisable, but the background stays luminous, limiting star counts and washing out the Milky Way completely.
-
Near Monroe County, Florida
- Direction
- SW
- Distance (km)
- 104.9
- SQM
- 21.29
- Bortle
- 4
Bright nebulae, galaxies, narrowband imaging
-
Near Collier County, Florida
- Direction
- W
- Distance (km)
- 99
- SQM
- 21.09
- Bortle
- 4
Bright nebulae, galaxies, narrowband imaging
-
Near Glades County, Florida
- Direction
- NW
- Distance (km)
- 141.1
- SQM
- 21.00
- Bortle
- 4
Bright nebulae, galaxies, narrowband imaging
Genuinely dark skies require a significant drive from Hollywood rather than a quick hop out of town.
The nearest Bortle 4 conditions are around 100 kilometres away to the west, near Near Collier County, Florida, with another comparable option about 105 kilometres to the south-west near Near Monroe County, Florida.
Closer in, the sky does improve gradually in some directions, but for a clear step up in observing quality you really do need to leave the coastal urban glow well behind.
-
Within 100 km
- Place
- Near Collier County, Florida
- Direction
- W
- Distance (km)
- 99
- SQM
- 21.09
- Bortle
- 4
-
Within 200 km
- Place
- Near Monroe County, Florida
- Direction
- SW
- Distance (km)
- 104.9
- SQM
- 21.29
- Bortle
- 4
Long-term trend
Hollywood's skies have been fairly stable over the long term, but the overall direction is slightly brighter rather than darker. The measured trend is a small decline from 17.7 SQM in the earliest record to 17.59 SQM in the latest one.
Across 75 datasets, the city's readings have stayed within a relatively narrow range from 17.52 to 17.88 SQM, with a mean of 17.69. In practical terms, that suggests observers in Hollywood have seen consistently bright urban conditions for years, without any major sustained improvement.
The year-on-year slope is modest, so this is not a dramatic change. Still, it does indicate that the sky background has edged the wrong way for deep-sky observing over time.
From within Hollywood, the most dependable observing is centred on bright, high-contrast targets. The Moon, planets and double stars are the clear standouts, and the brightest open clusters can still be enjoyable in binoculars or a small telescope.
A few showpiece deep-sky objects remain possible, especially when they are high in the sky and viewed with care. Even so, they tend to lack contrast, and much of the subtle structure that makes them impressive is lost against the bright background.
For the Milky Way, faint galaxies, wide nebulae and meteor watching, a darker site makes an enormous difference. Those are the targets most worth saving for a trip away from the city.
- Moon
- planets
- double stars
- brightest open clusters
- bright nebulae such as M42
- brightest globular clusters
- Milky Way
- faint galaxies
- broadband nebulae
- meteor showers
Can you see stars from Hollywood?
Yes — you can still see stars from Hollywood, but the view is strongly reduced by city glow. The brighter constellations and the more obvious stars show up, while many fainter ones disappear into the bright background.
Can you see the Milky Way from Hollywood?
Not realistically from the city itself. With a Bortle 9 sky and SQM 17.59, the Milky Way is effectively washed out from normal observing spots in Hollywood.
What Bortle class is Hollywood?
Hollywood is Bortle Class 9, which is an inner-city sky. In practical terms, that means severe light pollution and a strong bias toward only the brightest celestial targets.
What is the SQM in Hollywood?
The measured night-sky brightness is 17.59 SQM. That is a bright urban reading, consistent with very limited deep-sky contrast.
Where are the nearest dark skies to Hollywood?
The nearest good step up is around 100 kilometres away. The closest listed Bortle 4 sites are Near Collier County, Florida to the west at 99 kilometres and Near Monroe County, Florida to the south-west at 104.9 kilometres.
Is Hollywood good for astrophotography?
It can work for lunar, planetary and some bright-object astrophotography, especially with narrowband techniques or careful processing. For wide-field Milky Way work or faint deep-sky imaging, you will get far better results by travelling to a darker site.
How far do you need to drive from Hollywood for darker skies?
For a clearly worthwhile improvement, expect to travel about 100 kilometres from the city. That is where the nearest listed Bortle 4 locations begin to appear.