Stargazing in Soe, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

Dark-sky rating for Soe

Soe, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia is a small town (population about 40,190). 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

• Timau National Observatory · observatory · about 39 km away

Milky Way season in Soe

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 9.9° above the horizon, so stars within 10° of it never set from here.
• About 58.6% 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 70.9° up, passing almost directly overhead.
• The Large Magellanic Cloud only reaches about 30.2° altitude, so it is a low, seasonal target rather than a year-round one.
• At 852 m elevation, roughly 10% 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 9.9° latitude generally needs about Kp 9.0.

Nearby places

• Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
• Tilomar, Cova Lima, Timor Leste
• Suai, Cova Lima, Timor Leste
• Maliana, Bobonaro, Timor Leste
• Likisa, Liquiçá, Timor Leste
• Aileu, Aileu, Timor Leste