How dark is the sky in Albany, CA?

Satellite radiance puts Albany in the rural band. Little local light dome. Most stars are visible; the Milky Way is faint but often findable away from town lights. Only 9% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Albany.

Worth remembering: this is satellite radiance, not a ground observation. A true Bortle rating needs a human eye at night, this is the closest large-scale substitute.

The nearest darker sky to Albany

The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Truckee, CA, roughly 153 miles away in a straight line, rated dark sky. Road distance will be more.

Truckee, CA is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.

Albany against the rest of the dataset

Albany, CA counts roughly 19,439 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Among all 3,206 cities here, Albany ranks 288 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.