What the night sky looks like over Billings, MT

Billings reads as suburban on this dataset's scale. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. That's brighter than 81.5% of the 3,206 US cities in this dataset.

The number comes from orbit, not a stargazer's logbook, so treat it as an estimate of sky glow rather than a certified Bortle class.

How far Billings is from a meaningfully darker sky

Sheridan, WY, about 103 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban edge band, one step darker than Billings. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

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

Billings against the rest of the dataset

About 121,483 people live in Billings, MT, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Among all 3,206 cities here, Billings ranks 2,598 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.