How dark is the sky in Lancaster, CA?

Lancaster's sky measures urban here. Sky glow overhead most nights. Typically only planets, the Moon, and a handful of the brightest stars are visible. Lancaster's sky is brighter than 89.7% 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 Lancaster is from a meaningfully darker sky

8 miles from Lancaster, straight-line, sits Palmdale, CA, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Lancaster's own urban band.

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

Lancaster against the rest of the dataset

Lancaster, CA has a population of about 167,426, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Among all 3,206 cities here, Lancaster ranks 2,860 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.