Hercules, CA Night Sky Brightness
How dark is the sky in Hercules, CA?
Satellite radiance puts Hercules in the rural band. Little local light dome. Most stars are visible; the Milky Way is faint but often findable away from town lights. Hercules's sky is brighter than 6.6% 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, covered fully in the Bortle scale guide.
Where to go for a darker sky near Hercules
Truckee, CA, about 146 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the dark sky band, one step darker than Hercules. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.
Truckee, CA is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.
Hercules against the rest of the dataset
Hercules, CA counts roughly 26,499 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Ranked against the other 3,206 cities here by the methodology guide's own sampling, Hercules comes in at 211, darkest to brightest.