Stargazing in Bananal, São Paulo, Brazil

Dark-sky rating for Bananal

Bananal, São Paulo, Brazil is a small town (population about 9,969). A place this size typically has a rural sky: the Milky Way is usually visible on clear, moonless nights away from local lighting. That is an estimate of Bortle class 1–4 from population, not a measurement: the real value depends on the exact spot you observe from.

For a measured reading at any point, open the live Dark Sky map.

Nearest dark-sky places and observatories

• Pico dos Dias Observatory · observatory · about 130 km away

Milky Way season in Bananal

The bright core of the Milky Way passes almost directly overhead. It climbs at least 20° above the horizon during astronomical darkness in February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, peaking in April at about 84°.

• The south celestial pole stands 22.7° above the horizon, so stars within 23° of it never set from here.
• About 69.3% of the whole sky rises above the horizon at some point in the year from this latitude.
• The Milky Way's core in Sagittarius culminates about 83.7° up, passing almost directly overhead.
• The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are circumpolar here — visible on any clear, dark night of the year.
• At 455 m elevation, roughly 5% of the atmosphere's mass is already below you, which measurably reduces extinction near the horizon.

Tonight and aurora

As of November 6, 2026 (UTC) the Moon is a Waning Crescent at 7% illumination. Aurora at 22.7° latitude generally needs about Kp 9.0.

Nearby places

• Resende, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Volta Redonda, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Itaguai, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Nova Iguacu, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil