Ibadan Stargazing & Astronomy Report
Light pollution and stargazing locations near Ibadan
- City
- Ibadan
- Country
- Nigeria
- Latitude
- 7.3776
- Longitude
- 3.9470
Key Sky Quality Metrics
- SQM (mag/arcsec²)
- 20.52
- Bortle class
- Class 5 (Class 5)
- Darkness Quotient
- 58%
- Dataset
- April 2026
Suburban sky
Ibadan: The Practical Verdict
Ibadan, a major city in Oyo State, experiences moderate light pollution which limits its capacity for stargazing. This environment provides a compromised but usable sky for astronomy, though urban brightness does reduce the visibility of fainter targets in the night sky.
From this location, the Milky Way is weak and conditional, appearing only under optimal conditions, and many deep-sky objects remain challenging or beyond reach. However, bright phenomena such as the Moon, planets, double stars, and a limited selection of prominent globular clusters and emission nebulae are viable targets.
For those seeking significantly darker skies, the nearby site of Ododeyo in Ogun State, located due south and within about an hour's drive, offers a modest improvement in conditions with Bortle 4 quality.
At a Glance
- Overall
- Compromised but usable - This is a compromised but usable sky. Bright deep-sky objects and some imaging are possible, but contrast is noticeably reduced.
- Milky Way
- Weak or conditional - The Milky Way is usually weak from this sky and may only appear as a faint suggestion under good conditions.
- Best targets from here
- Moon, planets, double stars, bright open clusters, globular clusters, narrowband nebulae
- Do not prioritise
- faint galaxies, reflection nebulae, low surface-brightness nebulae, serious Milky Way photography
- No meaningful upgrade nearby
- Nearby sites are not notably darker. Local conditions will matter more than chasing a slightly darker map value.
- Good dark window
- Ibadan 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 Ibadan?
Conditionally. From Ibadan the Milky Way may show as a faint suggestion under transparent, moonless conditions, but it lacks dark-site contrast.
What Bortle class is Ibadan?
Ibadan is Bortle Class 5 (SQM 20.52), a compromised but usable for astronomy.
Is Ibadan good for stargazing?
Partly. Ibadan offers a compromised but usable where many bright targets remain accessible, but the faintest deep-sky work is compromised.
Is Ibadan good for astrophotography?
Broadband deep-sky imaging is heavily compromised from Ibadan and a Bortle 4 or darker site is strongly recommended. Narrowband imaging of bright emission nebulae remains viable from Ibadan with appropriate Ha or OIII filters.
What can you observe from Ibadan?
Primary targets from Ibadan include Moon, planets, double stars, bright open clusters, globular clusters. Targets such as faint galaxies, reflection nebulae, low surface-brightness nebulae are not realistic from this sky.
Where are darker skies near Ibadan?
No meaningfully darker mapped site was found within the search radius around Ibadan.
When is the sky darkest in Ibadan?
The sky over Ibadan is darkest around January, December.
Is light pollution in Ibadan getting better or worse?
There is not yet enough long-term data to give a confident trend for Ibadan.
north - good
The north sky shows no obvious glow at ground level. Faint stars are clear at low elevation.
north-north-east - good
Clean, dark sky to the north-north-east. No visible artificial light source affects this quarter.
north-east - excellent
The north-east sky is dark to the horizon. Faint stars and the Milky Way reach the ground in this direction on clear nights.
east-north-east - excellent
The east-north-east sky is dark to the horizon. Faint stars and the Milky Way reach the ground in this direction on clear nights.
east - good
The east sky shows no obvious glow at ground level. Faint stars are clear at low elevation.
east-south-east - excellent
No skyglow to the east-south-east. Stars are visible to the naked-eye limit at all elevations in this direction.
south-east - excellent
No visible light pollution in the south-east direction. The Milky Way structure is visible into this quarter on transparent nights.
south-south-east - excellent
The south-south-east sky is dark to the horizon with no visible artificial brightening. Faint extended objects are accessible at low elevation.
south - excellent
The south sky is dark to the horizon. Faint stars and the Milky Way reach the ground in this direction on clear nights.
south-south-west - good
The south-south-west horizon is free of artificial brightening. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground.
south-west - good
The south-west sky shows no obvious glow at ground level. Faint stars are clear at low elevation.
west-south-west - good
The west-south-west sky shows no obvious glow at ground level. Faint stars are clear at low elevation.
west - good
Clean, dark sky to the west. No visible artificial light source affects this quarter.
west-north-west - good
No visible glow on the west-north-west horizon. Stars are clear down to low elevation in this direction.
north-west - good
No visible glow on the north-west horizon. Stars are clear down to low elevation in this direction.
north-north-west - good
No visible glow on the north-north-west horizon. Stars are clear down to low elevation in this direction.
zenith - good
The zenith sky is dark enough for most deep-sky work. The Milky Way is visible as a pale band on clear nights.
-
Ododeyo, Ogun State
- Direction
- S
- Distance (km)
- 53.4
- SQM
- 21.21
- Bortle
- 4
-
Isamuro, Ogun State
- Direction
- SSW
- Distance (km)
- 44.2
- SQM
- 21.02
- Bortle
- 4
-
Abatan, Ogun State
- Direction
- SW
- Distance (km)
- 41.2
- SQM
- 20.90
- Bortle
- 4