Pune Stargazing & Astronomy Report
Light pollution and stargazing locations near Pune
- City
- Pune
- Country
- India
- Latitude
- 18.5214
- Longitude
- 73.8545
Key Sky Quality Metrics
- SQM (mag/arcsec²)
- 18.78
- Bortle class
- Class 8 (Class 8)
- Darkness Quotient
- 31%
- Dataset
- August 2026
City sky
Pune: The Practical Verdict
Pune, a prominent city in Maharashtra, offers a sky heavily influenced by high light pollution. This results in a poor city sky where the visual splendour of the stars is significantly diminished. The Milky Way is not visible due to the bright urban background, making detailed astronomical observation challenging from within the city limits.
Nonetheless, stargazers in Pune can still enjoy observing the Moon, planets, and bright stars, along with double stars and notable solar system events. However, attempts at visual deep-sky observing and appreciating the fine details of widefield Milky Way are best avoided. Narrowband imaging and care with bright targets could offer some success.
For a more meaningful stargazing experience, consider a trip to Jamkhed in Maharashtra, approximately 145 km east. This location offers a Bortle class 4 sky classification, indicating much darker skies ideal for deep-sky visual observation.
At a Glance
- Overall
- Poor city sky - This is a poor city sky. The Milky Way is not visible and most deep-sky observing is unrealistic from the location itself.
- Milky Way
- Not visible - The Milky Way is erased by the bright urban sky background.
- Best targets from here
- Moon, planets, bright stars, double stars, solar system events, narrowband imaging only with care
- Do not prioritise
- visual deep-sky observing, broadband galaxies, reflection nebulae, widefield Milky Way
- Best nearby upgrade
- Jamkhed, Maharashtra sits about 146 km east and reaches Bortle 4, roughly 7.5x darker.
- Good dark window
- Pune 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 Pune?
No. Pune is a Bortle Class 8 sky with SQM 18.78, so the Milky Way is not visible from the city. For Milky Way photography, look for a Bortle 4 or darker site.
What Bortle class is Pune?
Pune is Bortle Class 8 (SQM 18.78), a poor city sky for astronomy.
Is Pune good for stargazing?
Not for serious deep-sky observing. Pune is a poor city sky where the Moon, planets, and a handful of bright targets are the realistic options from the city itself.
Is Pune good for astrophotography?
Broadband deep-sky imaging is heavily compromised from Pune and a Bortle 4 or darker site is strongly recommended. Even narrowband imaging is difficult from Pune without careful processing.
What can you observe from Pune?
Primary targets from Pune include Moon, planets, bright stars, double stars, solar system events. Targets such as visual deep-sky observing, broadband galaxies, reflection nebulae are not realistic from this sky.
Where are darker skies near Pune?
The closest meaningfully darker mapped site is Mulshi Subdistrict, Maharashtra, about 53 km west north west of Pune, reaching Bortle 6.
When is the sky darkest in Pune?
The sky over Pune is darkest around January, December.
Is light pollution in Pune getting better or worse?
Long-term light pollution over Pune has been broadly stable across the available measurements.
north - marginal
Soft skyglow visible on the north horizon. Mid-brightness stars survive at low elevation; the faintest do not.
north-north-east - fair
A faint diffuse glow on the north-north-east horizon. Stars are visible to low elevation, with minor losses near the ground.
north-east - fair
Faint glow on the north-east horizon. Most stars are visible to low elevation; only the faintest near the ground are affected.
east-north-east - fair
Faint glow on the east-north-east horizon. Most stars are visible to low elevation; only the faintest near the ground are affected.
east - fair
A trace of skyglow near the east horizon. Stars are clear throughout this direction except very close to the ground.
east-south-east - fair
A faint diffuse glow on the east-south-east horizon. Stars are visible to low elevation, with minor losses near the ground.
south-east - fair
A faint diffuse glow on the south-east horizon. Stars are visible to low elevation, with minor losses near the ground.
south-south-east - good
The south-south-east horizon is dark. Faint stars are visible close to the ground.
south - good
Dark sky in the south direction with no obvious skyglow. Suitable for faint-object work at low elevation.
south-south-west - good
The south-south-west sky is dark to the horizon. Faint targets are accessible at all elevations here.
south-west - good
Dark horizon to the south-west. Faint stars and extended objects in this direction behave much as they do overhead.
west-south-west - good
Dark horizon to the west-south-west. Faint stars and extended objects in this direction behave much as they do overhead.
west - fair
The west sky is broadly dark with a small amount of glow at the horizon. Most objects in this direction are accessible.
west-north-west - fair
A faint diffuse glow on the west-north-west horizon. Stars are visible to low elevation, with minor losses near the ground.
north-west - marginal
Soft skyglow visible on the north-west horizon. Mid-brightness stars survive at low elevation; the faintest do not.
north-north-west - marginal
The north-north-west lower sky is measurably brighter than the darker quarters. Limit faint work to above about 20 degrees here.
zenith - marginal
The zenith is brighter than natural. The Milky Way cannot be seen and faint deep-sky objects are not accessible.
-
Goregaon, Maharashtra
- Direction
- WSW
- Distance (km)
- 64.2
- SQM
- 20.75
- Bortle
- 5
-
Sukeli, Maharashtra
- Direction
- W
- Distance (km)
- 71.1
- SQM
- 20.73
- Bortle
- 5
-
Shirur, Maharashtra
- Direction
- NE
- Distance (km)
- 58.7
- SQM
- 20.23
- Bortle
- 6
-
Mulshi Subdistrict, Maharashtra
- Direction
- WNW
- Distance (km)
- 52.5
- SQM
- 19.98
- Bortle
- 6
-
Sangamner, Maharashtra
- Direction
- NE
- Distance (km)
- 121.6
- SQM
- 20.63
- Bortle
- 5
-
Jamkhed, Maharashtra
- Direction
- E
- Distance (km)
- 145.5
- SQM
- 20.97
- Bortle
- 4