Carlsbad, CA's night sky, measured from orbit

Satellite radiance puts Carlsbad in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. That's brighter than 77% of the 3,206 US cities in this dataset.

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

The nearest darker sky to Carlsbad

The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Vista, CA, roughly 5 miles away in a straight line, rated suburban edge. Road distance will be more.

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

How Carlsbad compares nationally

Carlsbad, CA counts roughly 113,575 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Carlsbad places 2,456 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.