Mechanicsburg, PA's night sky, measured from orbit

Satellite radiance puts Mechanicsburg in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Only 53.6% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Mechanicsburg.

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

How far Mechanicsburg is from a meaningfully darker sky

10 miles from Mechanicsburg, straight-line, sits Carlisle, PA, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Mechanicsburg's own suburban band.

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

How Mechanicsburg compares nationally

Mechanicsburg, PA counts roughly 10,085 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Mechanicsburg places 1,709 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.