Memphis Stargazing & Astronomy Report
Light pollution and stargazing locations near Memphis
- City
- Memphis
- Country
- United States
- Latitude
- 35.1495
- Longitude
- -90.0490
Key Sky Quality Metrics
- SQM (mag/arcsec²)
- 17.48
- Bortle class
- Class 9 (Class 9)
- Darkness Quotient
- 19%
- Dataset
- March 2026
Inner city sky
Memphis stargazing at a glance
Memphis is a major river city in the south-west of Tennessee, best known for its musical heritage, freight links and broad metropolitan sprawl along the Mississippi.
The city generally experiences Extreme Light Pollution, with a Darkness Quotient of just 19% — placing it among the more light-polluted large cities in the United States.
For practical observing from within Memphis, the most reliable targets are the Moon, bright planets, double stars and the brightest open clusters. Fainter nebulae and galaxies are largely overwhelmed by the urban skyglow, with only a few showpiece objects occasionally worth trying.
Meaningfully darker skies do exist, but they are not right on the doorstep. The nearest reasonable step up is about 55 kilometres to the north-west near Near Mississippi County, Arkansas, while a more consistently good option lies about 85 kilometres east-north-east near Near Haywood County, Tennessee.
The map shows Memphis as a strong, concentrated bright core surrounded by a broad halo of urban light, with the most intense white-pink glow sitting over the city itself and fading outward through red, orange and yellow. That pattern is typical of a large metropolitan area whose skyglow spills well beyond the centre.
Around the wider region, the background shifts mostly into blue, with scattered smaller yellow and red islands marking towns and suburban clusters. This means Memphis stands out clearly from its surroundings, but it is not isolated: there are plenty of secondary light domes in many directions, which break up the darker countryside.
The darkest patches in the crop appear as deeper blue to grey areas, most noticeably toward the west and north-west, with some weaker darker pockets elsewhere around the edge of the map. In practical terms, that suggests the cleanest escapes from the city glow are not immediate, but the brightness does loosen its grip once you get well away from the urban corridor.
What the sky overhead is like
Looking straight up from Memphis, the zenith is heavily affected by urban light pollution, with an SQM reading of 17.48 and an inner-city level of sky brightness. The background sky tends to look grey rather than truly black, especially once you have given your eyes time to adapt.
The brighter constellations still come through, but many of their fainter connecting stars are lost, so familiar patterns can look thinned out or incomplete. The Milky Way is not a realistic city sight here, and most faint deep-sky observing is confined by contrast rather than telescope size.
For casual observing, this still leaves plenty to enjoy in the brighter parts of the sky. For anyone hoping to chase subtle nebulae, galaxies or rich star fields, though, getting outside the city makes a huge difference.
north - marginal
About 15 kilometres north of Memphis, the sky is still only marginal for astronomy, at roughly Bortle 6. It does improve steadily in this direction, with genuinely dark conditions becoming reachable at around 200 kilometres.
north-north-east - poor
About 15 kilometres north-north-east of the city, conditions are still poor, around Bortle 7. Skies improve further out, with genuinely dark conditions not arriving until roughly 200 kilometres from Memphis.
north-east - poor
Around 15 kilometres north-east, the sky remains poor, at about Bortle 8, so city glow is still very obvious. This direction does improve with distance, but genuinely dark skies need a long run of around 200 kilometres.
east-north-east - poor
At roughly 15 kilometres east-north-east of Memphis, the sky is still poor, around Bortle 8. It gets much better further out, with genuinely dark skies becoming available at about 200 kilometres.
east - poor
About 15 kilometres east of the city, the sky remains poor, around Bortle 8, with strong urban brightness still dominating. This is one of the better long-range directions, with genuinely dark skies reachable at around 100 kilometres.
east-south-east - poor
At roughly 15 kilometres east-south-east, conditions are still poor, around Bortle 9, and the city glow remains intense. Skies do improve markedly farther out, reaching good rural conditions by about 100 kilometres, but genuinely dark skies are not within the sampled radius in this direction.
south-east - poor
Around 15 kilometres south-east of Memphis, the sky is still poor at about Bortle 9. There is a worthwhile improvement farther out, with good rural skies by about 100 kilometres, but genuinely dark skies are not within the sampled radius in this direction.
south-south-east - poor
About 15 kilometres south-south-east, the sky remains poor, around Bortle 9. It improves substantially with distance, though genuinely dark conditions do not appear until roughly 200 kilometres out.
south - poor
At roughly 15 kilometres south of the city, conditions are still poor, around Bortle 8. Better rural skies arrive farther out, and genuinely dark conditions become reachable at around 200 kilometres.
south-south-west - poor
Around 15 kilometres south-south-west, the sky is still poor, at about Bortle 7. It improves with distance to decent rural conditions, but genuinely dark skies are not within the sampled radius in this direction.
south-west - poor
About 15 kilometres south-west of Memphis, the sky remains poor, around Bortle 8. Conditions improve quite well farther out, with genuinely dark skies becoming reachable at about 100 kilometres.
west-south-west - poor
At roughly 15 kilometres west-south-west, the sky is still poor, around Bortle 7. This direction improves relatively quickly, reaching good rural skies by around 50 kilometres and genuinely dark skies by about 100 kilometres.
west - poor
About 15 kilometres west of the city, conditions are still poor, around Bortle 7. The westward route improves well with distance, with good rural skies by around 50 kilometres and genuinely dark skies at roughly 100 kilometres.
west-north-west - poor
Around 15 kilometres west-north-west of Memphis, the sky remains poor at about Bortle 7. It improves meaningfully farther out, with good rural conditions by around 50 kilometres and genuinely dark skies by about 100 kilometres.
north-west - marginal
At roughly 15 kilometres north-west, the sky is marginal for astronomy, around Bortle 6, and already a little better than many other directions. It continues to improve farther out, with good rural skies by around 50 kilometres and genuinely dark skies only much farther away, at about 200 kilometres.
north-north-west - marginal
About 15 kilometres north-north-west of Memphis, the sky is marginal, around Bortle 6. This direction improves steadily and eventually becomes one of the darkest options, with genuinely dark skies appearing at around 200 kilometres.
zenith - poor
Straight overhead in Memphis, the sky is poor, with the zenith itself at Bortle 9. You can still pick out the brightest stars and the main outlines of familiar constellations, but the background sky is washed bright and many fainter stars disappear, with no realistic view of the Milky Way from the city centre.
-
Near Pontotoc County, Mississippi
- Direction
- SE
- Distance (km)
- 127.4
- SQM
- 21.02
- Bortle
- 4
Bright nebulae, galaxies, narrowband imaging
-
Near Haywood County, Tennessee
- Direction
- ENE
- Distance (km)
- 85.7
- SQM
- 20.90
- Bortle
- 4
Bright nebulae, galaxies, narrowband imaging
-
Near Mississippi County, Arkansas
- Direction
- NW
- Distance (km)
- 56.8
- SQM
- 20.89
- Bortle
- 4
Bright nebulae, galaxies, narrowband imaging
Genuinely dark skies are not especially close to hand from Memphis, so a worthwhile stargazing trip usually means leaving the metro glow properly behind.
The nearest Bortle 4 site in the supplied locations is about 55 kilometres to the north-west, near Near Mississippi County, Arkansas. Another good option is about 85 kilometres east-north-east near Near Haywood County, Tennessee, and both represent a clear improvement over the city sky.
Closer to Memphis, the sky brightens only gradually rather than improving dramatically, so the real change comes once you are well out into the surrounding countryside.
-
Within 100 km
- Place
- Near Haywood County, Tennessee
- Direction
- ENE
- Distance (km)
- 85.7
- SQM
- 20.90
- Bortle
- 4
-
Within 200 km
- Place
- Near Pontotoc County, Mississippi
- Direction
- SE
- Distance (km)
- 127.4
- SQM
- 21.02
- Bortle
- 4
Long-term brightness trend
Memphis has been fairly stable over the long term. The earliest reading in the series was 17.52 SQM, while the latest is 17.48 SQM, so the overall picture is one of persistent heavy urban brightness rather than a dramatic shift.
Across 76 datasets, the mean value is 17.55 SQM, with readings ranging from 17.37 to 17.78 SQM. The trend slope is slightly positive overall, but the year-to-year movement is small enough that most observers would experience Memphis as consistently very bright.
In other words, this is not a city where the night sky has recently opened up or sharply deteriorated. The practical observing limits have remained broadly similar for many years.
From within Memphis, the best targets are the bright, high-contrast ones that can punch through severe skyglow. The Moon and planets are the obvious standouts, while double stars and a handful of bright clusters can still be rewarding.
A few showpiece deep-sky objects remain possible with patience, especially when they are high in the sky, but they tend to look muted and lack fine detail. Objects that depend on a dark background — including most galaxies, faint nebulae and rich Milky Way star fields — are far better saved for a trip out of town.
If you are choosing equipment specifically for city use, think in terms of contrast-friendly targets rather than faint fuzzies. Memphis rewards lunar, planetary and bright-star observing much more than ambitious deep-sky hunting.
- 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 Memphis?
Yes, but not in large numbers from the city itself. The brightest stars and main constellation patterns are visible, while many fainter stars are lost in the urban glow.
Can you see the Milky Way from Memphis?
Not realistically from within the city. With a Bortle 9 sky and SQM 17.48, the Milky Way is overwhelmed by background brightness.
What Bortle class is Memphis?
Memphis is Bortle Class 9, which is an inner-city sky. In practical terms, that means a very bright background and strong limits on faint-object observing.
What is the SQM reading for Memphis?
The current SQM reading is 17.48. That is firmly in bright urban territory, where skyglow has a major effect on what you can see.
Where are the nearest darker skies to Memphis?
The nearest listed Bortle 4 option is Near Mississippi County, Arkansas, about 56.8 kilometres to the north-west. Another good nearby option is Near Haywood County, Tennessee, about 85.7 kilometres east-north-east of the city.
Is Memphis good for astrophotography?
It can be good for lunar and planetary imaging, because those targets are bright enough to cope with city skies. For deep-sky astrophotography, though, Memphis is challenging, and results improve greatly once you travel to darker rural locations.
How far do you need to drive from Memphis for better stargazing?
For a clear step up from the city, you are generally looking at roughly 55 to 85 kilometres to reach the nearest good rural sites. If you want genuinely dark skies in the best directions, the journey is often closer to about 100 kilometres or more.