How dark is the sky in Henderson, NC?

Satellite radiance puts Henderson in the suburban edge band. A noticeable glow near the horizon. Brighter stars and constellations are easy to pick out; the Milky Way is washed out. Henderson's sky is brighter than 42.4% of the 3,206 cities in this dataset.

Worth remembering: this is satellite radiance, not a ground observation. A true Bortle rating needs a human eye at night, this is the closest large-scale substitute.

How far Henderson is from a meaningfully darker sky

Chapel Hill, NC, about 44 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the rural band, one step darker than Henderson. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

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

Henderson against the rest of the dataset

Henderson, NC has a population of about 14,807, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Among all 3,206 cities here, Henderson ranks 1,351 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.