Stargazing in Pest, Budapest, Hungary

Dark-sky rating for Pest

Pest, Budapest, Hungary is a large metropolitan area (population about 1,001,748). A place this size typically has a bright inner-city sky: only the Moon, planets and the brightest stars show from inside the urban core. That is an estimate of Bortle class 7–9 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

• Konkoly Observatory (Piszkéstető) · observatory · about 76 km away
• Hortobágy Starry Sky Park · certified dark-sky place · about 144 km away

Milky Way season in Pest

The Milky Way's bright core never climbs 20° above the horizon during astronomical darkness from Pest; the fainter band is still visible from a dark site.

• The north celestial pole stands 47.5° above the horizon, so stars within 48° of it never set from here.
• About 86.9% 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 13.5° up, staying low, so a clear southern horizon matters.
• At 113 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 November 6, 2026 (UTC) the Moon is a Waning Crescent at 7% illumination. Aurora at 47.5° latitude generally needs about Kp 6.5.

Nearby places

• Budapest, Budapest, Hungary