Lisbon Stargazing & Astronomy Report

Light pollution and stargazing locations near Lisbon

City
Lisbon
Country
Portugal
Latitude
38.7223
Longitude
-9.1393

Key Sky Quality Metrics

SQM (mag/arcsec²)
17.34
Bortle class
Class 9 (Class 9)
Darkness Quotient
18%
Dataset
March 2026

Inner city sky

Stargazing in Lisbon

Lisbon is Portugal's capital and principal Atlantic city, a historic hillside metropolis on the country's western coast with a lively maritime character.

The city generally experiences Extreme Light Pollution, with a Darkness Quotient of just 18% — placing it among the more light-polluted major cities in Europe. For practical observing from within the city, the most reliable targets are the Moon, planets, double stars and the brightest open clusters. Faint galaxies, most nebulae and the richer texture of the Milky Way are effectively washed out by the urban skyglow.

Meaningfully darker skies do exist beyond the city, but they are not right on Lisbon's doorstep. The nearest reasonable improvement is around 70 kilometres to the east-south-east, near Silveiras, with even darker options farther out to the south-south-east near Ourique.

The map shows Lisbon as an intense bright core, with the city centre and surrounding urban area glowing in the hottest colours and spilling a broad halo well beyond the built-up area. That brightness pushes strongly out over the Atlantic as a wide light dome, which is typical of a large coastal city.

Away from the urban core, conditions ease gradually rather than suddenly. Inland, especially towards the east, south-east and south, the colours shift through green and blue into darker tones, showing that the most useful escape from city glare is found by heading away from the coast and into less densely populated countryside.

The wider picture is of a very bright metropolitan pocket set against a noticeably darker inland background dotted with smaller settlements. In other words, Lisbon is much brighter than its surroundings, but the map also suggests that patient observers who are willing to drive out of the city can reach substantially better skies.

Overhead sky quality

Looking straight up from Lisbon, the overhead sky is heavily affected by urban light, consistent with an inner-city environment. The background never becomes properly black, and the sky tends to look grey or orange-tinted rather than richly dark.

In those conditions, familiar bright constellations are still visible, but they appear stripped back to their main stars. Subtler patterns, faint star fields and low-contrast deep-sky detail are lost, so the zenith view is much better for bright showpiece objects than for delicate wide-field observing.

north - poor

Around 15 kilometres north of Lisbon, the sky is still poor, at roughly Bortle 8, so strong urban glow remains obvious. Conditions do improve steadily in this direction, with good skies appearing farther out and genuinely dark skies only after about 200 kilometres.

north-north-east - poor

Around 15 kilometres north-north-east, the sky remains poor at about Bortle 8, with heavy light pollution still dominating the view. It does improve with distance, but genuinely dark skies are not reached within the sampled range in this direction.

north-east - marginal

Around 15 kilometres to the north-east, conditions are marginal at about Bortle 6, which is a noticeable improvement on the city centre but still far from dark. Farther out, this direction becomes good, reaching Bortle 4 country skies at around 100 kilometres.

east-north-east - marginal

Around 15 kilometres east-north-east of Lisbon, the sky is marginal at about Bortle 6, with urban skyglow still affecting faint targets. This is one of the more promising directions overall, with good skies by around 50 kilometres and genuinely dark conditions by about 100 kilometres.

east - poor

Around 15 kilometres due east, the sky is still poor at roughly Bortle 8, so the city's light dome remains strong. Conditions improve with distance and become good farther out, but genuinely dark skies are not reached within the sampled range in this direction.

east-south-east - poor

Around 15 kilometres east-south-east, the sky is poor at about Bortle 7, though it is already a step better than the city centre. This direction improves well with distance, reaching good skies by around 50 kilometres and genuinely dark conditions by about 100 kilometres.

south-east - poor

Around 15 kilometres south-east of Lisbon, the sky is still poor at about Bortle 7, with plenty of glow from the metropolitan area. It becomes much better farther out, with genuinely dark skies available at around 100 kilometres in this direction.

south-south-east - poor

Around 15 kilometres south-south-east, the sky remains poor at about Bortle 7, so city brightness still has a strong effect. There is a worthwhile improvement farther out, reaching good skies around 50 kilometres away, but genuinely dark skies are not within the sampled radius in this direction.

south - poor

Around 15 kilometres south of the city, the sky is poor at about Bortle 7, though it is clearly better than overhead in central Lisbon. This direction improves nicely with distance, reaching good skies around 50 kilometres away and genuinely dark conditions by about 100 kilometres.

south-south-west - poor

Around 15 kilometres south-south-west, the sky is poor at about Bortle 7, but the trend outward is encouraging. By around 50 kilometres conditions are already good, and genuinely dark skies appear at roughly 100 kilometres.

south-west - poor

Around 15 kilometres south-west of Lisbon, the sky is poor at about Bortle 7, with the city still strongly influencing the horizon. Farther out this becomes one of the strongest directions, with good skies by around 50 kilometres and genuinely dark skies by about 100 kilometres.

west-south-west - poor

Around 15 kilometres west-south-west, the sky is poor at roughly Bortle 8, reflecting the strong coastal light dome. Even so, conditions improve markedly farther out, with good skies at around 50 kilometres and genuinely dark skies by about 100 kilometres.

west - poor

Around 15 kilometres due west, the sky is still poor at about Bortle 8, so this is not a strong quick-escape direction from the city. A major improvement does arrive farther out, with good skies around 50 kilometres away and genuinely dark conditions by roughly 100 kilometres.

west-north-west - poor

Around 15 kilometres west-north-west, the sky remains poor at about Bortle 8, with urban brightness still very apparent. It improves significantly with distance, reaching good skies around 50 kilometres out and genuinely dark conditions by about 100 kilometres.

north-west - poor

Around 15 kilometres north-west of Lisbon, the sky is poor at about Bortle 8, so faint deep-sky observing remains heavily compromised. Conditions improve farther out, with good skies around 50 kilometres away and genuinely dark skies at about 100 kilometres.

north-north-west - poor

Around 15 kilometres north-north-west, the sky is poor at about Bortle 8, still dominated by the Lisbon light dome. This direction becomes much better with distance, reaching genuinely dark skies by about 100 kilometres.

zenith - poor

Looking straight up from Lisbon, the zenith is poor, at Bortle 9 with an SQM of 17.34. The sky background is bright enough that familiar constellations are reduced to their main stars, while faint star fields and the Milky Way are effectively lost in the glow.

  • Near Ourique, Portugal
    Direction
    SSE
    Distance (km)
    135
    SQM
    21.28
    Bortle
    4

    Bright nebulae, galaxies, narrowband imaging

  • Near Silveiras, Portugal
    Direction
    ESE
    Distance (km)
    69.8
    SQM
    21.04
    Bortle
    4

    Bright nebulae, galaxies, narrowband imaging

  • Near AmĂŞndoa, Portugal
    Direction
    NE
    Distance (km)
    140.5
    SQM
    20.98
    Bortle
    4

    Bright nebulae, galaxies, narrowband imaging

Genuinely dark skies require a worthwhile drive from Lisbon rather than a quick hop to the outskirts.

The nearest Bortle 4 conditions are around 70 kilometres to the east-south-east, near Silveiras, Portugal, while a longer run of about 135 kilometres to the south-south-east near Ourique, Portugal brings slightly darker skies again. Closer to the city, the improvement is real but still limited, so the biggest step up comes once you are well clear of the Lisbon glow.

  • Within 100 km
    Place
    Near Silveiras, Portugal
    Direction
    ESE
    Distance (km)
    69.8
    SQM
    21.04
    Bortle
    4
  • Within 200 km
    Place
    Near Ourique, Portugal
    Direction
    SSE
    Distance (km)
    135
    SQM
    21.28
    Bortle
    4

Long-term trend

Lisbon's sky brightness has been broadly stable across the available record, with only a very slight darkening overall. The measured SQM rises from 17.23 in the earliest reading to 17.34 in the latest one, a modest improvement rather than a dramatic change.

That said, the full spread is narrow, running from 17.23 to 17.48 across 76 datasets. In practical terms, this means Lisbon has remained a heavily light-polluted city for stargazing throughout the period, even if the numbers hint at a small long-term improvement.

From within Lisbon, bright and compact targets are the sensible choice. The Moon and planets cut through the glow well, and double stars or the brightest open clusters can still be rewarding in small and medium telescopes.

A few brighter deep-sky objects are possible with compromise, especially if transparency is good and you observe when the target is high in the sky. For the Milky Way, faint galaxies, diffuse nebulae and meteor watching, a proper dark-sky trip transforms the experience.

  • 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 Lisbon?

Yes — you can still see stars from Lisbon, including the brighter constellations and prominent seasonal patterns. What you lose are the fainter stars, so the sky looks much sparser than it would from the countryside.

Can you see the Milky Way from Lisbon?

Not realistically from within the city. With Lisbon's very bright urban sky, the Milky Way is effectively washed out from normal city observing locations.

What Bortle class is Lisbon?

Lisbon is Bortle Class 9, which is the brightest end of the urban scale. In practical terms, that means severe light pollution and a strong skyglow across most of the sky.

What is the SQM reading for Lisbon?

Lisbon's reported sky brightness is 17.34 SQM. That is firmly in bright inner-city territory rather than dark-sky countryside.

Where are the nearest dark skies to Lisbon?

The nearest reasonable dark-sky option in the supplied locations is Near Silveiras, Portugal, about 70 kilometres to the east-south-east, where conditions reach Bortle 4. Slightly darker skies are available farther away near Ourique, Portugal, about 135 kilometres to the south-south-east.

Is Lisbon good for astrophotography?

It can be fine for lunar, planetary and some narrow-field targets, especially if you are interested in the Moon, planets or bright star pairs. For wide-field nightscapes, the Milky Way or faint deep-sky imaging, you will get far better results by travelling out to darker skies.

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

For a clear step up in quality, you are looking at roughly 70 kilometres to reach Bortle 4 skies near Silveiras. If you want an even darker background, around 135 kilometres towards Ourique improves things further.