Naked eye celestial objects and phenomena: how far can we see at night?

Abstract How far can we see with the naked eye at night? Many celestial objects like stars and galaxies as well as transient phenomena such as comets and supernovae can be observed in the night sky. We discuss the furthest distances of such objects and phenomena observable with the naked eye during the night-time for Earth-bound observers. The physics of night-time visual ranges differs from that of daytime observations because human vision shifts from cones to rods. In addition, mostly point sources are observed due to the large distances involved. Whether celestial objects and phenomena can be detected depends on the contrast of their radiation and the background sky luminance. We present a concise overview of how far we can see at night by first discussing the effects of the Earth's atmosphere. This includes attenuation of transmitted radiation as well as its role as a source of background radiation. Disregarding the attenuation of light due to interstellar and intergalactic dust, simple maximum night-time visual range estimates are based on the inverse square law, which can be easily verified by laboratory and demonstration experiments. From the respective calculations, we find that individual stars within the Milky Way galaxy of up to 15 000 light years are observable. Even further away are observable galaxies with several billion stars. The Andromeda galaxy can be observed with the naked eye at a distance of around 2.5 million light years. Similarly, the observability of supernovae also allows a visual range beyond the Milky Way galaxy. Finally, gamma ray bursts as the most energetic events in the universe are discussed concerning naked eye observations.