Polaris Andromeda Aries Auriga Cassiopeia Cepheus Cetus Cygnus Draco Eridanus Gemini Lepus Lyra Orion Pegasus Perseus Taurus Ursa Major Ursa Minor N E S W
The whole sky from Zhangwu at about 10 pm local time in mid-November (11 pm on daylight saving time). Overhead is the center, north is at the top and east at the left, as seen lying on your back. The pale band is the Milky Way; the dashed line is the celestial equator. Select a constellation name for its page.

Dark sky place · Zhangwu, China

Zhangwu

Zhangwu is a dark sky place in Zhangwu, China. Its sky rates Bortle Class 4, rural and suburban transition, with a zenith sky brightness of 20.85 mag/arcsec². DarkSky International lists it as an Urban Night Sky Place (certified 2026).

Zhangwu in brief

Bortle class
4
Sky brightness
20.85 mag/arcsec²
Naked-eye limit
magnitude 6.1-6.5
Latitude
42.4°N
DarkSky
Urban Night Sky Place

How dark the sky is at Zhangwu: Bortle Class 4, rural and suburban transition

The zenith sky here reads 20.85 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is about 2.9 times the brightness of a pristine natural sky (22.0), the extra coming from artificial light scattered in the air.

Milky Way

The Milky Way is impressive well above the horizon but loses its fine detail

Zodiacal light

Zodiacal light is visible but faint

Faintest naked-eye stars

Magnitude 6.1 to 6.5 overhead

Naked eye

Light domes from towns show in several directions; M33 is hard even with averted vision

At the eyepiece

Clusters, planetary nebulae and bright galaxies are fine; faint nebulae need a filter

1 mag 8.0 21.99+ 2 mag 7.5 21.89+ 3 mag 7.0 21.69+ 4 mag 6.5 20.49+ 5 mag 6.0 19.50+ 6 mag 5.5 18.94+ 7 mag 5.0 18.38+ 8 mag 4.5 18.00+ 9 mag 4.0
The Bortle scale. Each panel shows the class number, the faintest star the naked eye reaches at the zenith, and the darkest-edge sky brightness reading of that class in mag/arcsec².

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.

What's up from Zhangwu by season

At latitude 42.4°N, the north celestial pole stands 42° above the horizon, close to Polaris. Every star north of declination -48° rises at some time of year. The Milky Way core in Sagittarius climbs to 19° 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: Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Triangulum, Lynx, Cancer, Monoceros, Leo Minor, 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
  • LynxHigh in 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 MinorHigh in 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, 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, Camelopardalis, Vulpecula.

Showpieces from Zhangwu through the year

SightConstellationJanuaryAprilJulyOctober
Andromeda Galaxy (M31)AndromedaIn the northwest--Overhead
Orion Nebula (M42)OrionIn the south---
Pleiades (M45)TaurusHigh in the southwest--In the east
Double ClusterPerseusHigh in the northwest--High in the northeast
Hercules Cluster (M13)Hercules-In the eastOverhead-
Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)Canes Venatici-High in the northeastIn the northwest-
Ring Nebula (M57)Lyra--OverheadIn the west

At about 10 pm on the 15th of each month; a dash means the sight is below 25° then.

Never set from Zhangwu

Only skim the southern horizon from Zhangwu

Never rise from Zhangwu

Where to set up at Zhangwu

The coordinates on this page point to DarkSky International listing point: 42.380°N, 122.530°E.

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Open the larger map · Directions. Arrive before dark, park facing away from other observers, and use red light only.

Zhangwu among the dark sky places of China

Tawang, Bortle 2 Taregna, Bortle 4 Hanle Dark Sky Reserve, Bortle 1 Pench Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra), Bortle 3 Katao, Bortle 1 Kibber and Kaza, Bortle 1 Iriomote-Ishigaki National Park, Bortle 1 Batanes Islands, Bortle 2 Mount Pulag, Bortle 2 Chuya Steppe, Bortle 4 Hehuan Mountain, Bortle 3 Yeongyang Firefly Eco Park, Bortle 3 Huanglong National Scenic Area, Bortle 1 Xichong, Shenzhen, Bortle 4 Zhangwu Zhangwu, China Zhangwu Zhangwu, China
Bortle 1 Bortle 2 Bortle 3 Bortle 4 Bortle 5 or brighter Class not yet rated

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 Zhangwu

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 Zhangwu

PlaceWhereBortleDistance
Yeongyang Firefly Eco ParkYeongyang, South Korea3845 km (525 mi)
Bisei Town, Ibara CityBisei, Japan41,284 km (798 mi)
Minami-RokuroshiOno, Japan31,400 km (870 mi)
Kozushima Island Dark Sky ParkKozushima Village, Japan31,707 km (1,061 mi)
Huanglong National Scenic AreaSongpan, China11,959 km (1,218 mi)
Iriomote-Ishigaki National ParkIshigaki, Japan12,009 km (1,248 mi)
Hehuan MountainRen'ai, Taiwan32,032 km (1,262 mi)
Xichong, ShenzhenShenzhen, China42,333 km (1,450 mi)

Observatories and astronomy clubs near Zhangwu

No observatory or astronomy club on the list is near Zhangwu.

See observatories and astronomy clubs around the world. Local clubs often hold their star parties at dark sky places like this one.

Zhangwu record

Every value in the dark sky places dataset for Zhangwu
Park344
NameZhangwu
RegionLiaoning
CountryChina
LocationZhangwu
IDSurban night sky place
Lat42.38000
Lon122.53000
LatLonSpotDarkSky International listing point
StatusOpen
Bortle4
SQM20.85
DarkSkyUrban Night Sky Place
DarkSkyYear2026

From the site's dark sky places dataset (darkparksglobal_q426). The sky by season is computed from the coordinates.