Hull Stargazing & Astronomy Report
Light pollution and stargazing locations near Hull
- City
- Hull
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Latitude
- 53.7676
- Longitude
- -0.3274
Key Sky Quality Metrics
- SQM (mag/arcsec²)
- 18.81
- Bortle class
- Class 8 (Class 8)
- Darkness Quotient
- 31%
- Dataset
- March 2026
City sky
Stargazing in Hull
Hull is a historic port city in the East Riding of Yorkshire on England’s north-east coast, shaped by its estuary setting and long maritime character.
The city generally experiences High Light Pollution, with a Darkness Quotient of 31% — making it brighter than smaller rural centres, though not quite as overwhelmed as the very brightest major urban cores.
In practical terms, the most reliable targets from within the city are the Moon, planets, double stars and the brightest open clusters. A few showpiece deep-sky objects, such as the Orion Nebula and the brightest globular clusters, can still be attempted, but faint galaxies and the Milky Way are largely washed out by the urban skyglow.
Hull is actually quite well placed for a quick escape to darker skies. A reasonable step up appears only about 15 kilometres to the north-east, near Near East Riding of Yorkshire, England, while markedly darker conditions are available at roughly 50 kilometres to the north-west near Near North Yorkshire, England.
The map shows Hull and its immediate urban area as a concentrated bright patch of yellow, orange and pink-white, indicating a strong core of artificial skyglow with several surrounding hotspots. The brightness spreads unevenly across the built-up area, suggesting multiple clusters of intense lighting rather than a single compact dome.
The most obvious relief appears away from the city towards the east and north-east, where the colours fall away quickly through blue into very dark grey and black. That pattern suggests the open water and less built-up surroundings in those directions help the sky darken faster than over the more continuously lit land to the south and west.
To the west, south-west and south, the map keeps more lingering glow and scattered bright nodes, so the urban influence remains broader and more persistent there. Overall, Hull stands out clearly against its surroundings, but it also benefits from having noticeably darker territory relatively close by in some directions.
What the all-sky view suggests
Looking straight up from Hull, the sky is bright enough that contrast is the main limiting factor rather than the altitude of the target alone. The zenith sits in Bortle 8 territory, so familiar constellations remain visible, but their fainter outlying stars are thinned out and the background sky never becomes properly dark.
In a city sky like this, the brightest stars and major seasonal patterns still stand out well enough for casual stargazing and basic telescope alignment. What tends to disappear are the subtler star fields between them, along with any broad, low-contrast features such as the Milky Way.
The practical takeaway is simple: overhead is always better than near the horizon, but even at the zenith Hull’s skyglow places clear limits on deep-sky observing. For faint nebulae and galaxies, a short trip out of the city will help far more than waiting for them to climb higher.
north - good
About 15 kilometres north of Hull, the sky improves to Bortle 4 quality, which is good for a quick observing run and a clear step up from the city itself. Genuinely dark skies are then reached at around 25 kilometres in this direction, so the improvement comes fairly quickly.
north-north-east - good
At roughly 15 kilometres to the north-north-east, conditions are already good, around Bortle 4. Darker skies continue to build further out, with genuinely dark conditions reached at about 50 kilometres.
north-east - good
North-east is one of Hull’s strongest directions for a quick escape, with Bortle 4 skies already available around 15 kilometres out. Genuinely dark skies arrive by about 25 kilometres, so this is an especially promising direction.
east-north-east - good
Around 15 kilometres east-north-east of the city, the sky is good, at Bortle 4 level. It becomes genuinely dark by about 25 kilometres, making this another very favourable route away from Hull’s light dome.
east - fair
Fifteen kilometres east of Hull, the sky is fair rather than truly dark, sitting around Bortle 5. There is a worthwhile improvement further out, with genuinely dark skies reached at about 50 kilometres.
east-south-east - fair
East-south-east is fair at around 15 kilometres, with conditions near Bortle 5 and a noticeable reduction in glow compared with the city. Truly dark skies are available further out at about 50 kilometres in this direction.
south-east - marginal
South-east remains only marginal for a quick trip, with Bortle 6 conditions still present around 15 kilometres from Hull. The sky does improve substantially farther out, but genuinely dark conditions are not reached until about 50 kilometres.
south-south-east - poor
South-south-east is a weak direction close to the city, with poor Bortle 8 conditions still present around 15 kilometres out. It does improve with distance, but genuinely dark skies are only reached much farther away, at about 100 kilometres.
south - fair
Around 15 kilometres south of Hull, the sky is fair at roughly Bortle 5. A stronger improvement comes farther out, with genuinely dark skies reached at about 50 kilometres.
south-south-west - fair
South-south-west offers fair conditions around 15 kilometres from the city, at about Bortle 5. Genuinely dark skies are not reached within the sampled radius in this direction, although there is some improvement farther out to around Bortle 4.
south-west - fair
At roughly 15 kilometres south-west of Hull, the sky is fair, around Bortle 5. Genuinely dark skies are not within the sampled radius in this direction, and even farther out the improvement remains limited.
west-south-west - marginal
West-south-west is only marginal at around 15 kilometres, with Bortle 6 conditions still dominating. Genuinely dark skies are not within the sampled radius in this direction, so it is not one of Hull’s more rewarding escape routes.
west - fair
About 15 kilometres west of the city, the sky is fair at roughly Bortle 5. Improvement is slower here, with genuinely dark skies not reached until around 200 kilometres away.
west-north-west - fair
West-north-west is fair at around 15 kilometres, again near Bortle 5. Better skies do arrive eventually, but genuinely dark conditions are only reached at around 200 kilometres in this direction.
north-west - fair
Around 15 kilometres north-west of Hull, conditions are fair at about Bortle 5. The sky improves to good levels not far beyond that, but genuinely dark skies are only reached much farther out at around 200 kilometres.
north-north-west - good
North-north-west is already good around 15 kilometres from Hull, with Bortle 4 conditions. It becomes genuinely dark by about 50 kilometres, so this is another solid direction for a darker-sky trip.
zenith - poor
Looking straight up from Hull, the zenith is a poor urban sky at Bortle 8, with a bright background that cuts away much of the faint detail between the main stars. The brighter constellations are still easy enough to recognise overhead, but the Milky Way is effectively lost and only the more obvious stellar patterns hold their shape well.
-
Near North Yorkshire, England
- Direction
- NW
- Distance (km)
- 50.3
- SQM
- 21.33
- Bortle
- 3
Milky Way visible, broadband DSO imaging
-
Near East Riding of Yorkshire, England
- Direction
- NE
- Distance (km)
- 15
- SQM
- 20.96
- Bortle
- 4
Bright nebulae, galaxies, narrowband imaging
-
Near East Riding of Yorkshire, England
- Direction
- ESE
- Distance (km)
- 21.5
- SQM
- 20.91
- Bortle
- 4
Bright nebulae, galaxies, narrowband imaging
Genuinely darker skies are pleasingly close to hand from Hull rather than requiring a major expedition.
The nearest strong improvement is around 15 kilometres to the north-east at Near East Riding of Yorkshire, England, where conditions reach Bortle 4, and a still darker option lies about 50 kilometres to the north-west near Near North Yorkshire, England. In other words, Hull is one of those cities where a short drive can make a very noticeable difference to what you see overhead.
-
Within 25 km
- Place
- Near East Riding of Yorkshire, England
- Direction
- NE
- Distance (km)
- 15
- SQM
- 20.96
- Bortle
- 4
-
Within 100 km
- Place
- Near North Yorkshire, England
- Direction
- NW
- Distance (km)
- 50.3
- SQM
- 21.33
- Bortle
- 3
Long-term sky trend
Hull’s long-term record is notably steady. The earliest and latest readings are both 18.81 SQM, which points to little overall change in the city-centre night sky across the available series.
There is some variation within the record, with readings ranging from 18.07 to 19.12 SQM and a long-term mean of 18.74 SQM. The fitted trend is slightly positive at around 0.0188 SQM per year, hinting at a very modest darkening over time, but in practical visual terms Hull remains firmly a bright urban observing location.
With 75 datasets in the series, this looks more like a broadly stable light-pollution picture than a city undergoing dramatic change. For regular observers, that means expectations from year to year are likely to stay fairly consistent unless local lighting changes significantly.
From within Hull, the safest bets are bright, high-contrast objects that can punch through skyglow. The Moon, planets, double stars and the brightest open clusters are the most dependable targets for casual observing or a short telescope session.
A handful of showcase deep-sky objects can still be tried with realistic expectations, especially when they are high in the sky. The Orion Nebula and the brightest globular clusters may show up, but they tend to lack the structure and surrounding star-field richness seen from darker sites.
For wide, faint or low-contrast sights, Hull’s urban sky is simply too bright. The Milky Way, most galaxies, diffuse nebulae and meteor watching all improve dramatically once you leave the city and head for the darker countryside.
- Moon
- planets
- double stars
- brightest open clusters
- Orion Nebula (M42)
- brightest globular clusters
- Milky Way
- faint galaxies
- broadband nebulae
- meteor showers
Can you see stars from Hull?
Yes — you can still see plenty of the brighter stars and the main constellations from Hull. What you lose are the fainter background stars, so the sky looks much less crowded than it would from the countryside.
Can you see the Milky Way from Hull?
For most observers, no. Hull’s city-centre sky is bright enough that the Milky Way is largely washed out from within the city.
What Bortle class is Hull?
Hull is Bortle Class 8, which is a bright city sky. That means urban lighting has a strong effect on what is visible, especially for faint deep-sky objects.
What is the SQM in Hull?
Hull’s measured sky brightness is 18.81 SQM. In plain terms, that is a noticeably bright urban sky rather than a naturally dark one.
Where are the nearest dark skies to Hull?
The nearest reasonable darker sky is about 15 kilometres to the north-east at Near East Riding of Yorkshire, England, where conditions reach Bortle 4. For a darker step again, Near North Yorkshire, England lies about 50.3 kilometres to the north-west and reaches Bortle 3.
Is Hull good for astrophotography?
It can be good for lunar, planetary and some narrow-field imaging of bright targets, but it is much less suitable for faint deep-sky astrophotography from within the city. For nebulae, galaxies and wide-field nightscape work, a short drive to darker skies will make a big difference.
How far do you need to drive from Hull for better stargazing?
A noticeable improvement arrives after only about 15 kilometres, where Bortle 4 skies are available near Near East Riding of Yorkshire, England. If you want darker conditions again, around 50 kilometres to Near North Yorkshire, England gets you to Bortle 3.