Seattle Stargazing & Astronomy Report

Light pollution and stargazing locations near Seattle

City
Seattle
Country
United States
Latitude
47.6062
Longitude
-122.3321

Key Sky Quality Metrics

SQM (mag/arcsec²)
17.48
Bortle class
Class 9 (Class 9)
Darkness Quotient
19%
Dataset
March 2026

Inner city sky

Seattle stargazing at a glance

Seattle is a major Pacific Northwest city in the state of Washington, known for its coastal setting, hilly neighbourhoods and broad urban footprint around the water.

The city generally experiences Extreme Light Pollution, with a Darkness Quotient of just 19% — placing it among the more light-polluted large cities in North America.

For practical observing from within the city, the most reliable targets are the Moon, bright planets, double stars and the brightest open clusters. Fainter deep-sky objects are heavily washed out by the urban glow, though a few showpiece objects such as the Orion Nebula can still be attempted with compromise.

Genuinely darker skies are not close at hand and require a meaningful journey out of Seattle. The nearest reasonable dark-sky improvement is about 110 kilometres away to the south-west, near 112 km SW, while even darker Bortle 3 conditions appear about 105 kilometres to the west-north-west near 106 km WNW.

The map shows Seattle as an intense bright core, with a broad pink-white centre wrapped in red, orange and yellow, indicating a large and powerful urban light dome rather than a compact patch of city glow. That brightness spreads well beyond the central area, blending into surrounding settlements and leaving much of the nearby region noticeably illuminated.

The darkest-looking areas in the crop sit mainly over the open water to the west and in more distant inland areas to the north-east and east, where the colours fade through blue into grey and near-black. Even so, these darker zones are broken up by many smaller islands of light, showing that Seattle is surrounded by a busy network of towns and suburban development.

Compared with its surroundings, Seattle is clearly the dominant source of skyglow in the map, but it is not isolated. The western and north-western sectors appear to escape the glow more cleanly than the heavily populated belts to the east and south, while the wider region still carries enough scattered lighting to make truly dark skies a trip rather than something found just outside the city.

What the overhead sky is like

Looking straight up from Seattle, the zenith is still strongly affected by city lighting. With an SQM of 17.48, the overhead sky is bright enough that familiar constellations remain visible, but the background never becomes properly dark.

In practice, the brightest stars and the main constellation outlines will still show, especially on transparent nights, while subtler star fields are thinned out and the Milky Way is effectively lost from the city. The overall impression is of an urban sky with a persistent luminous backdrop rather than a truly night-adapted view.

north - poor

About 15 kilometres north of Seattle, the sky is still poor, at roughly Bortle 8, so urban glow remains very strong in that direction. Meaningfully darker skies do exist further out, but genuinely good conditions are only reached much farther away, with the best sampled view improving to Bortle 4 at around 200 kilometres.

north-north-east - poor

About 15 kilometres to the north-north-east, conditions are still poor at Bortle 7, with the city glow very obvious. This direction improves substantially with distance, reaching genuinely dark skies at around 100 kilometres and becoming very dark farther beyond that.

north-east - poor

At around 15 kilometres to the north-east, the sky remains poor at Bortle 8, so faint objects are still badly suppressed. The picture changes further out, with very dark conditions reached at about 100 kilometres in this direction.

east-north-east - poor

Around 15 kilometres east-north-east of Seattle, the sky is still poor at Bortle 8 and strongly affected by urban lighting. There is a clear improvement farther out, with good skies appearing by roughly 50 kilometres and very dark conditions reached at about 100 kilometres.

east - poor

At roughly 15 kilometres east of the city, the sky is still poor at Bortle 8, so the horizon glow remains prominent. Conditions improve well with distance here, becoming good by around 50 kilometres and very dark at about 100 kilometres.

east-south-east - poor

Around 15 kilometres east-south-east, the sky is poor at Bortle 7, with only limited relief from Seattle's brightness. This direction does improve steadily, reaching good conditions by about 50 kilometres and genuinely dark skies at around 100 kilometres.

south-east - poor

At about 15 kilometres south-east of Seattle, the sky is still poor at Bortle 8 and urban glow remains dominant. Farther out there is a major improvement, with good skies at around 50 kilometres and very dark conditions at about 100 kilometres.

south-south-east - poor

Roughly 15 kilometres south-south-east of the city, the sky is still poor at Bortle 8, so only a modest improvement is apparent. The stronger change comes much farther out, with genuinely dark skies reached at around 100 kilometres.

south - poor

About 15 kilometres south of Seattle, conditions remain poor at Bortle 8 and the light dome is still heavy. Darker skies are reachable farther out in this direction, with genuinely dark conditions appearing at around 100 kilometres.

south-south-west - marginal

At around 15 kilometres south-south-west, the sky improves to marginal quality at Bortle 6, which is better than many other directions but still far from dark. The real payoff comes much farther out, with genuinely dark skies only reached at around 200 kilometres.

south-west - marginal

Around 15 kilometres south-west of Seattle, the sky is marginal at Bortle 6, offering some improvement over the city centre but still plenty of glow. This direction becomes more useful with distance, reaching fair conditions quite nearby and genuinely dark skies at about 100 kilometres.

west-south-west - marginal

At roughly 15 kilometres west-south-west, the sky is marginal at Bortle 6, with a noticeable but incomplete escape from the urban dome. A much better step up lies farther out, with good skies by around 50 kilometres and genuinely dark conditions at about 100 kilometres.

west - marginal

About 15 kilometres west of Seattle, conditions are marginal at Bortle 6, so brighter stars and planets fare better than faint deep-sky targets. This is one of the more promising directions overall, improving to good skies by around 50 kilometres and very dark conditions at about 100 kilometres.

west-north-west - marginal

Around 15 kilometres west-north-west, the sky is marginal at Bortle 6, with the city glow easing but still obvious. This direction improves well with distance, reaching good conditions by around 50 kilometres and genuinely dark skies at about 100 kilometres.

north-west - marginal

At about 15 kilometres north-west of Seattle, the sky is marginal at Bortle 6 and already noticeably better than the city centre. With a longer drive it becomes a solid option, reaching good conditions by around 50 kilometres and genuinely dark skies at about 100 kilometres.

north-north-west - marginal

Roughly 15 kilometres north-north-west, the sky is marginal at Bortle 6, so there is some improvement but not enough for serious faint-object work. Conditions continue to improve with distance, becoming good by around 50 kilometres and genuinely dark at about 100 kilometres.

zenith - poor

Looking straight up from Seattle, the zenith is poor, corresponding to Bortle 9. The brightest stars and familiar constellation shapes remain visible, but the sky background is bright, faint stars are suppressed, and the Milky Way is not realistically visible from within the city.

  • 275 km ENE
    Direction
    ENE
    Distance (km)
    274.6
    SQM
    21.61
    Bortle
    3

    Milky Way visible, broadband DSO imaging

  • 106 km WNW
    Direction
    WNW
    Distance (km)
    106.2
    SQM
    21.47
    Bortle
    3

    Milky Way visible, broadband DSO imaging

  • 112 km SW
    Direction
    SW
    Distance (km)
    111.9
    SQM
    21.17
    Bortle
    4

    Bright nebulae, galaxies, narrowband imaging

Genuinely dark skies require a significant journey from Seattle rather than a quick hop out of town.

The nearest Bortle 4 site in the supplied locations is about 110 kilometres to the south-west at 112 km SW, while a slightly longer trip of about 105 kilometres to the west-north-west reaches darker Bortle 3 conditions at 106 km WNW.

Closer to the city, conditions improve only gradually, so the real step up comes once you are well away from the main urban glow.

  • Within 200 km
    Place
    106 km WNW
    Direction
    WNW
    Distance (km)
    106.2
    SQM
    21.47
    Bortle
    3
  • Within 500 km
    Place
    275 km ENE
    Direction
    ENE
    Distance (km)
    274.6
    SQM
    21.61
    Bortle
    3

Long-term sky trend

Seattle's long-term trend is mildly encouraging. The recorded sky brightness has improved from 17.23 SQM in the earliest sample to 17.48 SQM in the latest one, a small but measurable gain in darkness overall.

Across the full record, the average sits at 17.59 SQM, with readings ranging from a very bright 17.13 up to an outlying 22.00. The fitted trend of 0.034 SQM per year points to gradual improvement rather than a dramatic shift, so in practical terms the city remains heavily light-polluted even if the direction of travel is slightly positive.

From within Seattle itself, urban-friendly targets are the sensible choice. The Moon, planets, double stars and a handful of bright clusters are the most rewarding objects because they can stand up to the bright background sky.

A few showpiece deep-sky objects can still be tried with realistic expectations, especially brighter nebulae such as M42 and the very brightest globular clusters. For the Milky Way, faint galaxies, large diffuse nebulae and the full impact of meteor showers, a proper trip to darker skies makes a dramatic difference.

  • 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 Seattle?

Yes — you can still see stars from Seattle, but mostly the brighter ones. The city sits under very strong light pollution, so the richer background star fields are heavily reduced.

Can you see the Milky Way from Seattle?

Not realistically from within the city. With Seattle at Bortle 9 and SQM 17.48, the sky is simply too bright for the Milky Way to stand out.

What Bortle class is Seattle?

Seattle is Bortle Class 9, which is an inner-city sky. In practical terms, that means severe light pollution and a strong loss of faint celestial detail.

What is the SQM reading for Seattle?

The measured sky brightness is 17.48 SQM. That is a bright urban sky by astronomical standards.

Where are the nearest dark skies to Seattle?

The nearest strong improvement in the supplied locations is about 110 kilometres to the south-west at 112 km SW, where conditions reach Bortle 4. Slightly farther away, about 106 kilometres to the west-north-west at 106 km WNW, conditions improve further to Bortle 3.

Is Seattle good for astrophotography?

It can work for the Moon, planets and some narrow-field targets, but Seattle is not well suited to deep-sky astrophotography from within the city. For nebulae, galaxies and wide-field nightscapes, you will get far better results by travelling to darker skies.

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

For a meaningful improvement, you are looking at roughly 110 kilometres to reach Bortle 4 conditions in the supplied nearby sites. For a darker Bortle 3 sky, the nearest listed option is about 105 kilometres away.