What the night sky looks like over Mattoon, IL

Satellite radiance puts Mattoon in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Mattoon's sky is brighter than 55.7% 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 Mattoon is from a meaningfully darker sky

Mahomet, IL, about 49 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban edge band, one step darker than Mattoon. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

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

Mattoon against the rest of the dataset

Mattoon, IL has a population of about 16,602, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Among all 3,206 cities here, Mattoon ranks 1,776 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.