Charlottesville, VA's night sky, measured from orbit

Satellite radiance puts Charlottesville in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Only 77.3% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Charlottesville.

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

How far Charlottesville is from a meaningfully darker sky

The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Waynesboro, VA, roughly 23 miles away in a straight line, rated suburban edge. Road distance will be more.

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

How Charlottesville compares nationally

Charlottesville, VA counts roughly 44,767 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Charlottesville places 2,466 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.