Dark Sky Sites — Satellite Spotting Directory

Satellite visibility depends on sky darkness as much as location. From a Bortle 1 reserve you can see Hubble, AST's BlueBirds, and faint Starlinks that are simply invisible against any urban sky. Pick a site below for Bortle rating, live pass times, and a satellite visibility guide for that exact location.

The Bortle scale rates night-sky darkness from 1 (pristine, darkest) to 9 (inner-city glow). The lower the number, the more satellites, faint Starlinks and deep-sky objects you can see — every site below is Bortle 1–3.

Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve Bortle 2

New Zealand

Atacama Desert Bortle 1

Chile

Big Bend National Park Bortle 2

USA

Brecon Beacons Bortle 3

Wales

Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve Bortle 1

USA

Cherry Springs State Park Bortle 2

USA

Death Valley National Park Bortle 2

USA

Erg Chebbi (Merzouga) Bortle 1

Morocco

Eryri (Snowdonia) National Park Bortle 3

Wales

Exmoor National Park Bortle 3

England

Galloway Forest Park Bortle 3

Scotland

Jasper National Park Bortle 2

Canada

Kerry Dark Sky Reserve Bortle 3

Ireland

Kruger National Park Bortle 2

South Africa

La Palma (Roque de los Muchachos) Bortle 2

Spain

Mauna Kea Bortle 2

USA

Mont-Mégantic Dark Sky Reserve Bortle 3

Canada

NamibRand Nature Reserve Bortle 1

Namibia

Natural Bridges National Monument Bortle 2

USA

Pic du Midi Bortle 3

France

Sutherland Dark Sky Reserve Bortle 2

South Africa

Uluru-Kata Tjuta Bortle 1

Australia

Wadi Rum Bortle 1

Jordan

Warrumbungle National Park Bortle 2

Australia

Westhavelland Nature Park Bortle 3

Germany

All pass times are computed by SGP4 orbital mechanics for each site's exact coordinates, updated daily. DarkSky International certification status is shown on each site page.