Newcastle Stargazing & Astronomy Report
Light pollution and stargazing locations near Newcastle
- City
- Newcastle
- Country
- Australia
- Latitude
- -32.9283
- Longitude
- 151.7817
Key Sky Quality Metrics
- SQM (mag/arcsec²)
- 19.15
- Bortle class
- Class 7 (Class 7)
- Darkness Quotient
- 35%
- Dataset
- April 2026
Suburban/urban transition
Newcastle: The Practical Verdict
Newcastle is a poor urban/suburban sky for astronomy. The Milky Way is not realistically visible from this level of light pollution.
Realistic targets include Moon, planets, bright double stars, bright open clusters, narrowband imaging with careful processing. With care, bright nebulae in narrowband and globular cluster cores are also accessible.
For darker conditions: Coolongolook, New South Wales, about 97 km north east, is the strongest nearby option (Bortle 4).
At a Glance
- Overall
- Poor urban/suburban sky - This is a poor sky for astronomy. The Moon, planets, and a few bright objects remain viable, but deep-sky work is difficult.
- Milky Way
- Not visible - The Milky Way is not realistically visible from this level of light pollution.
- Best targets from here
- Moon, planets, bright double stars, bright open clusters, narrowband imaging with careful processing
- Do not prioritise
- visual deep-sky observing, broadband galaxies, reflection nebulae, Milky Way photography
- Best nearby upgrade
- Coolongolook, New South Wales sits about 97 km north east and reaches Bortle 4, roughly 6.7x darker.
- Good dark window
- Newcastle's longest dark windows fall in June and July, with the shortest nights around December and January. For deep-sky imaging, winter gives the best combination of long nights and true astronomical darkness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you see the Milky Way from Newcastle?
No. Newcastle is a Bortle Class 7 sky with SQM 19.15, 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 Newcastle?
Newcastle is Bortle Class 7 (SQM 19.15), a poor urban/suburban sky for astronomy.
Is Newcastle good for stargazing?
Not for serious deep-sky observing. Newcastle is a poor urban/suburban sky where the Moon, planets, and a handful of bright targets are the realistic options from the city itself.
Is Newcastle good for astrophotography?
Broadband deep-sky imaging is heavily compromised from Newcastle and a Bortle 4 or darker site is strongly recommended. Narrowband imaging of bright emission nebulae remains viable from Newcastle with appropriate Ha or OIII filters.
What can you observe from Newcastle?
Primary targets from Newcastle include Moon, planets, bright double stars, bright open clusters, narrowband imaging with careful processing. Targets such as visual deep-sky observing, broadband galaxies, reflection nebulae are not realistic from this sky.
Where are darker skies near Newcastle?
The closest meaningfully darker mapped site is Redhead Bluff, New South Wales, about 10 km south south west of Newcastle, reaching Bortle 5.
When is the sky darkest in Newcastle?
The sky over Newcastle is darkest around June, July.
Is light pollution in Newcastle getting better or worse?
Long-term light pollution over Newcastle 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 - fair
A small artificial brightening near the north-north-east horizon. Star counts in this direction remain high above the lowest elevations.
north-east - good
Clean horizon to the north-east. Star counts remain high near the ground.
east-north-east - good
The east-north-east sky shows no obvious glow at ground level. Faint stars are clear at low elevation.
east - excellent
No visible light pollution in the east direction. The Milky Way structure is visible into this quarter on transparent nights.
east-south-east - excellent
The east-south-east sky is dark to the horizon with no visible artificial brightening. Faint extended objects are accessible at low elevation.
south-east - excellent
The south-east sky is dark to the horizon. Faint stars and the Milky Way reach the ground in this direction on clear nights.
south-south-east - excellent
The south-south-east sky is dark to the horizon with no visible artificial brightening. Faint extended objects are accessible at low elevation.
south - good
The south horizon is free of artificial brightening. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground.
south-south-west - good
The south-south-west horizon is free of artificial brightening. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground.
south-west - good
No visible glow on the south-west horizon. Stars are clear down to low elevation in this direction.
west-south-west - good
Clean, dark sky to the west-south-west. No visible artificial light source affects this quarter.
west - fair
The west horizon is mostly dark with a hint of light pollution. Faint stars are accessible above about 10 degrees.
west-north-west - good
Clean horizon to the west-north-west. Star counts remain high near the ground.
north-west - good
The north-west horizon is free of artificial brightening. Faint stars are visible to within a few degrees of the ground.
north-north-west - fair
The north-north-west horizon shows a slight brightening. Workable for most targets above about 10 degrees elevation.
zenith - fair
The overhead sky background is somewhat elevated. Faint stars are partially suppressed but bright targets are clear.
-
Redhead Bluff, New South Wales
- Direction
- SSW
- Distance (km)
- 10
- SQM
- 20.47
- Bortle
- 5
-
Coolongolook, New South Wales
- Direction
- NE
- Distance (km)
- 96.7
- SQM
- 21.22
- Bortle
- 4
-
Palm Grove, New South Wales
- Direction
- SW
- Distance (km)
- 61.9
- SQM
- 20.43
- Bortle
- 5
-
Luskintyre, New South Wales
- Direction
- NW
- Distance (km)
- 41.6
- SQM
- 19.94
- Bortle
- 6