Stargazing in Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Dark-sky rating for Zagreb

Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia is a mid-sized city (population about 663,592). 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

• Zselic Starry Sky Park · certified dark-sky place · about 149 km away

Milky Way season in Zagreb

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

• The north celestial pole stands 45.8° above the horizon, so stars within 46° of it never set from here.
• About 85.9% 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 15.2° up, staying low, so a clear southern horizon matters.
• At 135 m elevation, roughly 2% of the atmosphere's mass is already below you, which measurably reduces extinction near the horizon.

Tonight and aurora

As of October 19, 2026 (UTC) the Moon is a Waxing Gibbous at 61% illumination. Aurora at 45.8° latitude generally needs about Kp 7.0.