Denver, CO Night Sky Brightness
Denver, CO's night sky, measured from orbit
Denver 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 61.5% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Denver.
Note the source: a satellite reading of upward light, not a visual Bortle scale reading. The two measure related but different things, explained in the Bortle scale guide.
Where to go for a darker sky near Denver
Aurora, CO, about 9 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the rural band, one step darker than Denver. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.
Aurora, CO is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.
How Denver compares nationally
Denver, CO has a population of about 729,019, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Denver's position, 1,962 of 3,206, darkest to brightest, comes from the sampling method the methodology guide sets out.