Québec City Stargazing & Astronomy Report
Light pollution and stargazing locations near Québec City
- City
- Québec City
- Country
- Canada
- Latitude
- 46.8139
- Longitude
- -71.2080
Key Sky Quality Metrics
- SQM (mag/arcsec²)
- 17.67
- Bortle class
- Class 9 (Class 9)
- Darkness Quotient
- 20%
- Dataset
- May 2026
Inner city sky
Québec City: The Practical Verdict
Québec City, located in the province of Quebec, is characterised by its mid-size urban environment. The astronomical quality here is notably poor due to severe urban light pollution, making it difficult to appreciate the night sky fully. Unfortunately, the primary limiting factor is the extreme light pollution, which smothers the visibility of most celestial sights.
The Milky Way remains invisible here, and stargazers will find themselves limited to observing the Moon, planets, bright stars, and occasional solar system events. Brightest nebulae require narrowband imaging, and visual deep-sky observing is not feasible under these conditions. The west-south-west horizon suffers the most from the light dome, but conditions slightly improve towards the east-south-east.
For those seeking better views, travelling about 85 km north-east to a Bortle 3 site offers a significantly darker sky, facilitating serious deep-sky observations and a far richer experience.
At a Glance
- Overall
- Severe urban sky - This is a severely light-polluted urban sky. Only the Moon, planets, bright stars, and a few specialist targets remain practical.
- Milky Way
- Not visible - The Milky Way is not visible from this sky.
- 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
- 84 km NE sits about 84 km north east and reaches Bortle 3, roughly 32x darker.
- Moderate dark window
- Québec City's longest dark windows fall in December and January, with the shortest nights around June and July. Plan deep-sky sessions around the autumn and winter months for the best combination of long nights and true astronomical darkness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you see the Milky Way from Québec City?
No. Québec City is a Bortle Class 9 sky with SQM 17.67, 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 Québec City?
Québec City is Bortle Class 9 (SQM 17.67), a severe urban sky for astronomy.
Is Québec City good for stargazing?
Not for serious deep-sky observing. Québec City is a severe urban sky where the Moon, planets, and a handful of bright targets are the realistic options from the city itself.
Is Québec City good for astrophotography?
Broadband deep-sky imaging is heavily compromised from Québec City and a Bortle 4 or darker site is strongly recommended. Even narrowband imaging is difficult from Québec City without careful processing.
What can you observe from Québec City?
Primary targets from Québec City 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 Québec City?
The closest meaningfully darker mapped site is 25 km ENE, about 25 km east north east of Québec City, reaching Bortle 6.
When is the sky darkest in Québec City?
The sky over Québec City is darkest around January, December.
Is light pollution in Québec City getting better or worse?
Long-term light pollution over Québec City has been broadly stable across the available measurements.
north - good
Clean horizon to the north. Star counts remain high near the ground.
north-north-east - good
Clean horizon to the north-north-east. Star counts remain high near the ground.
north-east - good
Clean horizon to the north-east. Star counts remain high near the ground.
east-north-east - good
Clean, dark sky to the east-north-east. No visible artificial light source affects this quarter.
east - good
Clean, dark sky to the east. No visible artificial light source affects this quarter.
east-south-east - good
The east-south-east horizon is free of artificial brightening. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground.
south-east - good
Clean, dark sky to the south-east. No visible artificial light source affects this quarter.
south-south-east - good
No visible glow on the south-south-east horizon. Stars are clear down to low elevation in this direction.
south - fair
Subtle skyglow on the south horizon. Faint stars below about 10 degrees here are slightly suppressed.
south-south-west - fair
Mild brightening on the south-south-west horizon. Faint stars at the very lowest elevation are dimmed; otherwise unaffected.
south-west - fair
The south-west horizon shows a slight brightening. Workable for most targets above about 10 degrees elevation.
west-south-west - fair
The west-south-west horizon is mostly dark with a hint of light pollution. Faint stars are accessible above about 10 degrees.
west - fair
The west horizon shows a slight brightening. Workable for most targets above about 10 degrees elevation.
west-north-west - fair
The west-north-west horizon shows a slight brightening. Workable for most targets above about 10 degrees elevation.
north-west - fair
Subtle skyglow on the north-west horizon. Faint stars below about 10 degrees here are slightly suppressed.
north-north-west - good
The north-north-west horizon is free of artificial brightening. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground.
zenith - poor
Overhead is dominated by skyglow. Only the brightest stars and planets are clear.
-
25 km ENE
- Direction
- ENE
- Distance (km)
- 24.5
- SQM
- 20.00
- Bortle
- 6
-
Campbell's Corner, Quebec
- Direction
- SSW
- Distance (km)
- 63.9
- SQM
- 20.72
- Bortle
- 5
-
84 km NE
- Direction
- NE
- Distance (km)
- 83.5
- SQM
- 21.44
- Bortle
- 3
-
Daveluyville (ville), Quebec
- Direction
- SW
- Distance (km)
- 99.8
- SQM
- 20.41
- Bortle
- 5
-
Adamstown Township, Maine
- Direction
- S
- Distance (km)
- 212.2
- SQM
- 21.18
- Bortle
- 4
-
Passes-Dangereuses, Quebec
- Direction
- S
- Distance (km)
- 232.7
- SQM
- 20.84
- Bortle
- 4