Bismarck, ND's night sky, measured from orbit

Bismarck's sky measures suburban here. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Only 67.4% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Bismarck.

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

How far Bismarck is from a meaningfully darker sky

Jamestown, ND, about 98 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban edge band, one step darker than Bismarck. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

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

How Bismarck compares nationally

Bismarck, ND counts roughly 77,772 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Bismarck places 2,148 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.