What the night sky looks like over Medford, MA

Satellite radiance puts Medford in the suburban edge band. A noticeable glow near the horizon. Brighter stars and constellations are easy to pick out; the Milky Way is washed out. Medford's sky is brighter than 37.2% 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 Medford is from a meaningfully darker sky

10 miles from Medford, straight-line, sits Peabody, MA, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Medford's own suburban edge band.

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

Medford against the rest of the dataset

About 59,898 people live in Medford, MA, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Among all 3,206 cities here, Medford ranks 1,187 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.