Lincoln, IL Night Sky Brightness
Lincoln, IL's night sky, measured from orbit
Lincoln's sky measures suburban edge here. A noticeable glow near the horizon. Brighter stars and constellations are easy to pick out; the Milky Way is washed out. Lincoln's sky is brighter than 28% of the 3,206 cities in this dataset.
Note the source: a satellite reading of upward light, not a visual Bortle scale reading. The two measure related but different things, explained in the Bortle scale guide.
Where to go for a darker sky near Lincoln
The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Godfrey, IL, roughly 94 miles away in a straight line, rated dark sky. Road distance will be more.
Godfrey, IL is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.
How Lincoln compares nationally
About 13,047 people live in Lincoln, IL, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Lincoln's position, 892 of 3,206, darkest to brightest, comes from the sampling method the methodology guide sets out.