r/tromsotravel • u/VenomBond007 • 10d ago
Any suggestion for dark places (Bortle 3-4 class) where Astro photography is possible?
Hi,
I am planning to have a trip to Tromsø in September this year. I have a nice interest in Astro photography (I'm beginner by the way) and thinking of taking photo of Milky Way core. Can anyone suggest place which is like Bortle class 3-4 and accessible from car maybe? Any other suggestion would be welcome!
3
u/VctrG 10d ago
Doesn't matter much, as in September almost no darkness. The darkest time will be 15-22, when there will be about 1-1.5h of night, then it will be nearly full moon for a week
For the darkest sky check dark sky maps. Kvaloya is garbage in these terms. Skogsfjordvatnet is the closest (1.5h drive)
Otherwise border of Finland and 1-2h deeper in to Finland. Ideal place is south of Finnmark, but there is literally nothing, and almost no roads.
Also, your worst enemy are clouds, unless you are super lucky and everywhere will be clear sky (almost impossible). So in the ends, you can't really choose, as the weather will dictate you where you can go.
Northern Norway is the worst place for astrophotography, as 5 months there is no darkness, and most of the time there are Northern Lights, which also light pollution, so you will not get good photos of milky way.
How did you even end up with idea of Tromsø for astrophotography?
1
u/IanMoone007 9d ago
The NL plus Milky Way are not the best combo for galactic core photos. You can get part of
the Milky Way and the NL in the same shot though
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u/Miserable_Sky5682 10d ago
For car-accessible Milky Way spots, I would start west of town on Kvaløya rather than trying to stay near Tromsø itself. Sommarøy, Ersfjordbotn, and Grøtfjord are the usual first checks because they get you out of the city glow without turning it into a huge expedition, but for a beginner I would care more about a safe turnout and a clean southern horizon than whether the map says Bortle 3 or 4. In September I would shortlist 2-3 of those and make the final call close to the night because cloud, moon, and local haze can flip the winner fast. I work on DarkScout, so biased, but it is useful for that last comparison once you have a few candidate spots.