Yes, you can
You can stargaze from a city. Light pollution hides faint stars, galaxies and the Milky Way, but it barely touches the Moon, the planets, the brightest stars, double stars and bright star clusters. Those make up a long observing list, and from a balcony or backyard you can work through it on any clear night. The trick is choosing targets that suit your sky, and protecting your eyes from the lights right around you.
What shows well from a city
| Target | With eyes | With binoculars or a small telescope |
|---|---|---|
| The Moon | Seas, highlands, phases | Craters and mountains along the terminator |
| Jupiter | Bright, steady point | Up to four moons; cloud belts in a telescope |
| Saturn | Steady yellowish point | The rings in almost any telescope |
| Venus | The brightest point after the Moon | Its changing phase |
| Pleiades | A small misty group | Dozens of blue-white stars |
| Albireo | A single star | A gold-and-blue double star in a telescope |
Add the bright stars of each season, the International Space Station (bright enough to see from a city center; check the ISS pass finder) and the occasional bright meteor. For which planets are up this week, use planets visible tonight.
Find the best spot
In a city, the light that matters most is the light shining straight into your eyes, not the general glow of the sky. A streetlight 20 meters away does more damage to what you see than the whole skyline.
- Get into shadow. Stand where a wall, tree or building blocks the nearest lights. Even shading your eyes with a hand or a hood helps.
- Look away from the brightest glow. The sky is usually darkest high overhead and on the side away from downtown.
- Use parks and rooftops thoughtfully. A park gives you a wider horizon and fewer lights, and a rooftop gets you above local clutter. Only go where it’s safe and permitted.
- Go out later. Some commercial and office lighting turns off late in the evening, and the sky can be a little darker as a result.
Your eyes still need time to adapt. In a city they won’t reach full sensitivity, but 15 minutes away from screens and direct light still reveals noticeably more stars. See dark adaptation and light pollution.
Stargazing from a balcony
A balcony is a perfectly good observatory with two limits: it shows only part of the sky, and the building itself affects the air.
Know your slice of sky. A balcony sees one direction, roughly from the horizon (or the building opposite) up to the overhang above you. In the Northern Hemisphere, a south-facing balcony is the most useful, because the Moon and planets travel across the southern half of the sky. East- and west-facing balconies catch objects rising or setting, and a north-facing one shows the stars circling the pole, such as the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia. In the Southern Hemisphere, swap north and south.
Mind the heat. Buildings soak up heat during the day and release it at night. Warm air rising from walls, windows and the rooftops in front of you makes stars and planets shimmer in a telescope. Set the telescope as far out on the balcony as you can, avoid looking across warm roofs when possible, and let the instrument sit outside for half an hour or so before observing, so it reaches the outdoor temperature. Keep the balcony door closed behind you; warm air spilling out of the apartment does the same thing.
Watch for vibration. Balconies flex. If the view shakes every time you move, stand still for a few seconds before looking, or use binoculars, which tolerate it better.
Equipment that helps
Binoculars are the best first instrument for city observing: they’re quick to use from a small space and show the Moon, star clusters and Jupiter’s moons well. A small telescope is excellent for the Moon, planets and double stars, which are bright enough that light pollution matters little. See binoculars or telescope for what to choose.
Light-pollution filters are sometimes sold as a cure for city skies. They can help with certain nebulae that emit light at specific colors, but they do little for galaxies or star clusters, and they dim everything else in the field. They’re an optional extra, not a first purchase.
What to save for a dark site
Some objects simply don’t survive city light: the Milky Way, faint galaxies such as the Andromeda Galaxy beyond its core, faint nebulae and the fainter meteors of a shower. That isn’t a failure of your equipment. The Bortle scale explains why, and how much even a short drive out of town can change things.
For tonight’s options from your location, start with tonight’s sky.