Des Moines, IA's night sky, measured from orbit

Des Moines 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 50.5% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Des Moines.

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

How far Des Moines is from a meaningfully darker sky

8 miles from Des Moines, straight-line, sits Norwalk, IA, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Des Moines's own suburban band.

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

How Des Moines compares nationally

Des Moines, IA has a population of about 213,096, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Des Moines places 1,612 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.