Stargazing in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Dark-sky rating for Kupang

Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia is a mid-sized city (population about 474,801). A place this size typically has a bright suburban sky: main constellations are easy, the Milky Way is washed out. That is an estimate of Bortle class 5–6 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

• Timau National Observatory · observatory · about 74 km away

Milky Way season in Kupang

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 71°.

• The south celestial pole stands 10.2° above the horizon, so stars within 10° of it never set from here.
• About 58.8% 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 71.2° up, passing almost directly overhead.
• The Large Magellanic Cloud only reaches about 30.5° altitude, so it is a low, seasonal target rather than a year-round one.
• At 94 m elevation, roughly 1% of the atmosphere's mass is already below you, which measurably reduces extinction near the horizon.

Tonight and aurora

As of October 20, 2026 (UTC) the Moon is a Waxing Gibbous at 65% illumination. Aurora at 10.2° latitude generally needs about Kp 9.0.

Nearby places

• Tilomar, Cova Lima, Timor Leste
• Suai, Cova Lima, Timor Leste
• Maliana, Bobonaro, Timor Leste
• Likisa, Liquiçá, Timor Leste
• Aileu, Aileu, Timor Leste
• Dili, Dili Municipality, Timor Leste