McMinnville, TN's night sky, measured from orbit

McMinnville's sky measures suburban here. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Only 57.4% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than McMinnville.

Note the source: a satellite reading of upward light, not a visual Bortle scale reading. The two measure related but different things.

How far McMinnville is from a meaningfully darker sky

Manchester, TN, about 22 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban edge band, one step darker than McMinnville. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

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

How McMinnville compares nationally

McMinnville, TN counts roughly 14,032 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. McMinnville places 1,829 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.