How dark the sky is at El Jabali Stellar Park: Bortle Class 2, typical truly dark site
The zenith sky here reads 21.90 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is as dark as a natural sky gets: almost all the glow comes from airglow and starlight, not lamps.
Milky Way
The summer Milky Way is highly structured, with dark lanes visible to the naked eye
Zodiacal light
Zodiacal light is bright enough to cast faint shadows before dawn and after dusk
Faintest naked-eye stars
Magnitude 7.1 to 7.5 overhead
Naked eye
M33 is easy with direct vision; clouds show only as black holes in the starfield
At the eyepiece
Faint nebulae and galaxy detail come through well; this is a typical star party sky
Sky brightness and class come from the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness (Falchi et al. 2016, CC BY-NC 4.0), with natural skyglow added. On the night, haze, smoke, humidity and the Moon set the real limit; see every Bortle Class 2 place.
What's up from El Jabali Stellar Park by season
At latitude 40.2°N, the north celestial pole stands 40° above the horizon, close to Polaris. Every star north of declination -50° rises at some time of year. The Milky Way core in Sagittarius climbs to 21° above the southern horizon. These are the constellations well placed, 35° or more above the horizon, at about 10 pm in the middle of each season, brightest first.
January evenings (winter): Auriga, Orion, and Canis Minor
- AurigaOverhead, brightest star Capella
- OrionHigh in the south, brightest star Rigel
- Canis MinorIn the southeast, brightest star Procyon
- TaurusHigh in the southwest, brightest star Aldebaran
- GeminiHigh in the southeast, brightest star Pollux
- Ursa MajorIn the northeast, brightest star Alioth
- PerseusHigh in the west, brightest star Mirfak
- AriesIn the west, brightest star Hamal
Also well placed: Cassiopeia, Triangulum, Lynx, Cancer, Monoceros, Camelopardalis.
April evenings (spring): Bootes, Virgo, and Leo
- BootesHigh in the east, brightest star Arcturus
- VirgoIn the southeast, brightest star Spica
- LeoHigh in the southwest, brightest star Regulus
- Ursa MajorOverhead, brightest star Alioth
- Ursa MinorIn the north, brightest star Polaris
- Corona BorealisIn the east, brightest star Alphecca
- Canes VenaticiOverhead, brightest star Cor Caroli
- LynxIn the northwest, brightest star Alpha Lyncis
Also well placed: Cancer, Leo Minor, Camelopardalis, Coma Berenices, Sextans.
July evenings (summer): Bootes, Lyra, and Aquila
- BootesHigh in the west, brightest star Arcturus
- LyraOverhead, brightest star Vega
- AquilaIn the southeast, brightest star Altair
- CygnusHigh in the east, brightest star Deneb
- Ursa MinorIn the north, brightest star Polaris
- OphiuchusIn the south, brightest star Rasalhague
- Corona BorealisHigh in the west, brightest star Alphecca
- DracoHigh in the north, brightest star Eltanin
Also well placed: Cepheus, Serpens, Hercules, Canes Venatici, Sagitta, Delphinus, Lacerta, Scutum, Vulpecula.
October evenings (fall): Lyra, Cygnus, and Perseus
- LyraIn the west, brightest star Vega
- CygnusHigh in the west, brightest star Deneb
- PerseusIn the northeast, brightest star Mirfak
- AriesIn the east, brightest star Hamal
- AndromedaOverhead, brightest star Alpheratz
- DracoIn the northwest, brightest star Eltanin
- CassiopeiaHigh in the northeast, brightest star Schedar
- PegasusHigh in the southwest, brightest star Enif
Also well placed: Cepheus, Aquarius, Triangulum, Sagitta, Pisces, Delphinus, Lacerta, Equuleus, Vulpecula.
Showpieces from El Jabali Stellar Park through the year
| Sight | Constellation | January | April | July | October |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andromeda Galaxy (M31) | Andromeda | In the northwest | - | - | Overhead |
| Orion Nebula (M42) | Orion | In the south | - | - | - |
| Pleiades (M45) | Taurus | High in the southwest | - | - | In the east |
| Double Cluster | Perseus | High in the northwest | - | - | High in the northeast |
| Hercules Cluster (M13) | Hercules | - | In the northeast | Overhead | - |
| Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) | Canes Venatici | - | High in the northeast | In the northwest | - |
| Ring Nebula (M57) | Lyra | - | - | Overhead | In the west |
At about 10 pm on the 15th of each month; a dash means the sight is below 25° then.
Never set from El Jabali Stellar Park
Only skim the southern horizon from El Jabali Stellar Park
Never rise from El Jabali Stellar Park
Where to set up at El Jabali Stellar Park
The coordinates on this page point to El Jabalon summit stellar park, Jabaloyas, at 1,685 m (5,530 ft): 40.218°N, 1.420°W.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Open the larger map · Directions. Arrive before dark, park facing away from other observers, and use red light only.
El Jabali Stellar Park among the dark sky places of Spain
Each dot is a dark sky place, colored by Bortle class; select one for its page. See Dark sky places outside the United States for the full list, darkest first.
Camping and lodging at El Jabali Stellar Park
Check the official site for campgrounds and overnight rules; many parks close their gates at night, so ask about after-dark access.
Dark sky places nearest El Jabali Stellar Park
| Place | Where | Bortle | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albarracin Cultural Park | Albarracin, Spain | 4 | 21 km (13 mi) |
| Comarca de Gudar-Javalambre Starlight Reserve | Arcos de las Salinas, Spain | 3 | 40 km (25 mi) |
| Alto Turia Starlight | Aras de los Olmos, Spain | 3 | 41 km (25 mi) |
| Serrania de Cuenca Natural Park | Cuenca, Spain | 3 | 50 km (31 mi) |
| Campillo de Duenas | Campillo de Duenas, Spain | 2 | 77 km (48 mi) |
| Comarca Cuencas Mineras Starlight Reserve | Utrillas, Spain | 4 | 82 km (51 mi) |
| Sierra de Alcaraz y Campo de Montiel | Alcaraz, Spain | 3 | 203 km (126 mi) |
| Muriel Viejo Starlight | Muriel Viejo, Spain | 3 | 209 km (130 mi) |
Observatories and astronomy clubs near El Jabali Stellar Park
Observatories within 100 km
- Javalambre Astrophysical ObservatoryArcos de las Salinas, Teruel, Spain, 40 km (25 mi), research observatory
- OAO (Observatorio de Aras de los Olmos)Aras de los Olmos, Valencian Community, Spain, 41 km (25 mi), open to the public
Nearest astronomy clubs
- Asociacion Valenciana de AstronomiaValencia, Spain, 122 km (76 mi)
- Agrupacion Astronomica AragonesaZaragoza, Spain, 166 km (103 mi)
- Agrupacion Astronomica de MadridMadrid, Spain, 195 km (121 mi)
See observatories and astronomy clubs around the world. Local clubs often hold their star parties at dark sky places like this one.
El Jabali Stellar Park record
Every value in the dark sky places dataset for El Jabali Stellar Park
| Park | 254 |
|---|---|
| Name | El Jabali Stellar Park |
| Area | Europe |
| Country | Spain |
| Lat | 40.21828 |
| Lon | -1.42039 |
| LatLonSpot | El Jabalon summit stellar park, Jabaloyas |
| Elevation_m | 1685 |
| Status | Open |
| StatusNote | Not in Starlight list under this name; matched to El Jabalon stellar park (Jabaloyas, Teruel), installed 2019 |
| Sources | https://bikeclimbs.com/climb/spain/aragon/sierra-de-albarracin/jabaloyas/subida-pico-jabalon; https://cecalbarracin.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/miradores-sierra-de-albarracin-rehalda.pdf |
| Bortle | 2 |
| SQM | 21.90 |
From the site's dark sky places dataset (darkparksglobal_q426). The sky by season is computed from the coordinates.