Carson, CA's night sky, measured from orbit

Carson reads as suburban on this dataset's scale. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Only 76.5% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Carson.

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 Carson

Redondo Beach, CA, about 9 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban edge band, one step darker than Carson. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

Redondo Beach, 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 Carson compares nationally

About 91,358 people live in Carson, CA, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Carson places 2,438 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.