Before the shoot · Planning
Light Pollution
Light pollution map: worldwide light pollution from VIIRS night-time satellite data (~500 m, z2–8), with the Bortle class 1–9 estimated automatically for your position or the centre of the map, a class legend and a plain reading of what each class actually lets you shoot. You can cache the current map area locally so it still works up in the hills with no signal. It answers "which way do I drive tonight, and how far, to get dark enough?". It and Astro are two modes of the same screen — entering from here lands you straight on the light pollution map.
When it helps
- light pollution
- light pollution map
- dark skies
- dark night
- Bortle
- Bortle scale
- what class is this sky
- where can I see the milky way
- where is it dark
- where to shoot the stars
- can I shoot stars in the city
- how far do I need to drive
- dark sites near me
- night sky brightness
- sky brightness
- artificial light at night
- stargazing spots
- bortle
- dark sky
- dark site
- where to see the milky way
- how far from the city
At a glance
| Where to find it | Tools tab → Light Pollution (or Astro → light pollution) |
| Category | Before the shoot · Planning |
| Platforms | iOS / Android / HarmonyOS (native) (coming soon) |
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“Light Pollution” is one of the 37 photography tools in Optaxis. Coming to iOS, Android and HarmonyOS (native) at the same time, expected between late December 2026 and early January 2027; once live, search for “光轴” (Optaxis) in your app store to download.