Charleston, IL's night sky, measured from orbit

Charleston reads as urban on this dataset's scale. Sky glow overhead most nights. Typically only planets, the Moon, and a handful of the brightest stars are visible. That's brighter than 86.8% 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.

Where to go for a darker sky near Charleston

Mattoon, IL, about 10 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban band, one step darker than Charleston. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

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

How Charleston compares nationally

About 17,361 people live in Charleston, IL, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Charleston places 2,767 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.