DarkSkyCheck

Apex, NC Night Sky Brightness

How dark is the sky in Apex, NC?

Suburban edge
9.4 nW/cm2/sr

Apex reads as suburban edge on this dataset's scale. A noticeable glow near the horizon. Brighter stars and constellations are easy to pick out; the Milky Way is washed out. Only 15.3% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Apex.

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, covered fully in the Bortle scale guide.

The nearest darker sky to Apex

The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Fuquay-Varina, NC, roughly 10 miles away in a straight line, rated rural. Road distance will be more.

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

Apex against the rest of the dataset

About 75,977 people live in Apex, NC, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Ranked against the other 3,206 cities here by the methodology guide's own sampling, Apex comes in at 490, darkest to brightest.