Europe's first International Dark Sky Park (2009) — rolling hills, dedicated observatory.
Updated:
· Tonight: Saturday, August 15, 2026
📍 S Hungary🌑 Bortle 2🚗 ≈ 2.5 h from Budapest via the M7 and 67 to Kaposvár.
About Zselic
Zselic was Europe's first International Dark Sky Park (2009). Rolling south-Hungarian hills reach Bortle 2 around the dedicated Zselic Star Park observatory.
What you can see in the sky
Summer Milky Way core high in the south, and public telescopes at the Zselic Star Park.
Best time of year
Spring, summer and autumn; winter fog can be persistent in the Danube basin.
Why this site is worth the drive
Europe's first IDA Dark Sky Park (2009)
Purpose-built star park with observatory and campsite
Bortle 2 with rolling forested horizons
Practical tips for Zselic
Arrive at dusk and give your eyes 20+ minutes to dark-adapt
Use a red headlamp — white light kills night vision
Bring warm layers; European mountain and coastal sites drop sharply after sunset
Live 48-hour forecast
Tonight's verdict above is a build-time snapshot. For the full
hourly view — cloud cover, transparency, seeing, smoke, humidity,
moon altitude and a Bortle-aware tonight score by observing mode
(visual, deep-sky, planetary, astrophoto) — open the live forecast:
The live page combines Open-Meteo weather, US-AQI wildfire smoke,
moon math and Bortle-scale darkness into a single tonight score
(0–100), updated continuously.
Frequently asked questions
Is Zselic good for stargazing tonight?
Tonight's verdict is Excellent (High confidence). 10h of clear sky (≤30% cloud) during tonight's astronomical night, mean cloud 0%.
When is the best time of year to stargaze at Zselic?
Spring, summer and autumn; winter fog can be persistent in the Danube basin.
How long is the drive from Toronto?
≈ 2.5 h from Budapest via the M7 and 67 to Kaposvár.
What can I see in the sky here?
Summer Milky Way core high in the south, and public telescopes at the Zselic Star Park.
How dark is the sky? (Bortle scale)
Zselic sits at Bortle class 2 on the 1–9 dark-sky scale, where 1 is a pristine wilderness sky and 9 is an inner-city sky.