What the night sky looks like over Decatur, AL

Decatur reads as suburban edge on this dataset's scale. A noticeable glow near the horizon. Brighter stars and constellations are easy to pick out; the Milky Way is washed out. Only 37.3% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Decatur.

The number comes from orbit, not a stargazer's logbook, so treat it as an estimate of sky glow rather than a certified Bortle class.

Where to go for a darker sky near Decatur

Scottsboro, AL, about 54 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the rural band, one step darker than Decatur. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

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

Decatur against the rest of the dataset

Decatur, AL counts roughly 57,974 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Among all 3,206 cities here, Decatur ranks 1,190 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.