Arlington, WA's night sky, measured from orbit

Satellite radiance puts Arlington in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Only 62.9% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Arlington.

Note the source: a satellite reading of upward light, not a visual Bortle scale reading. The two measure related but different things.

How far Arlington is from a meaningfully darker sky

6 miles from Arlington, straight-line, sits Marysville, WA, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Arlington's own suburban band.

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

How Arlington compares nationally

About 21,959 people live in Arlington, WA, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Arlington places 2,006 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.