How dark is the sky in Alpena, MI?

Satellite radiance puts Alpena in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. That's brighter than 48% of the 3,206 US cities in this dataset.

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.

How far Alpena is from a meaningfully darker sky

Sault Ste. Marie, MI, about 107 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the rural band, one step darker than Alpena. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

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

Alpena against the rest of the dataset

Alpena, MI has a population of about 10,116, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Among all 3,206 cities here, Alpena ranks 1,531 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.