Matthews, NC Night Sky Brightness
Matthews, NC's night sky, measured from orbit
Matthews's sky measures suburban here. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Only 84.8% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Matthews.
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.
How far Matthews is from a meaningfully darker sky
The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Stallings, NC, roughly 3 miles away in a straight line, rated suburban edge. Road distance will be more.
Stallings, NC is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.
How Matthews compares nationally
About 32,048 people live in Matthews, NC, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Matthews's position, 2,702 of 3,206, darkest to brightest, comes from the sampling method the methodology guide sets out.