Linden, NJ's night sky, measured from orbit

Linden reads as suburban on this dataset's scale. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Linden's sky is brighter than 82.7% 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.

How far Linden is from a meaningfully darker sky

10 miles from Linden, straight-line, sits New Providence, NJ, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Linden's own suburban band.

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

How Linden compares nationally

About 45,393 people live in Linden, NJ, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Linden places 2,637 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.