Hanover, PA Night Sky Brightness
Hanover, PA's night sky, measured from orbit
Satellite radiance puts Hanover in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Only 75.8% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Hanover.
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 Hanover
16 miles from Hanover, straight-line, sits Westminster, MD, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Hanover's own suburban band.
Westminster, MD is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.
How Hanover compares nationally
About 16,728 people live in Hanover, PA, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Hanover's position, 2,418 of 3,206, darkest to brightest, comes from the sampling method the methodology guide sets out.