Hobbs, NM Night Sky Brightness
What the night sky looks like over Hobbs, NM
Hobbs reads as suburban on this dataset's scale. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Hobbs's sky is brighter than 80.2% of the 3,206 cities in this dataset.
The number comes from orbit, not a stargazer's logbook, so treat it as an estimate of sky glow rather than a certified Bortle class - the Bortle scale guide covers why.
The nearest darker sky to Hobbs
The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Carlsbad, NM, roughly 67 miles away in a straight line, rated rural. Road distance will be more.
Carlsbad, NM is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.
Hobbs against the rest of the dataset
Hobbs, NM has a population of about 41,061, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Among all 3,206 cities here, Hobbs ranks 2,557 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured, by the sampling the methodology guide documents.