What the night sky looks like over Jackson, MO

Jackson reads as suburban edge on this dataset's scale. A noticeable glow near the horizon. Brighter stars and constellations are easy to pick out; the Milky Way is washed out. Jackson's sky is brighter than 31.4% 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.

How far Jackson is from a meaningfully darker sky

Highland, IL, about 96 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the rural band, one step darker than Jackson. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

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

Jackson against the rest of the dataset

Jackson, MO counts roughly 15,929 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Among all 3,206 cities here, Jackson ranks 1,001 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.