What the night sky looks like over Mesa, AZ

Satellite radiance puts Mesa in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Only 71.4% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Mesa.

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.

Where to go for a darker sky near Mesa

13 miles from Mesa, straight-line, sits Queen Creek, AZ, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Mesa's own suburban band.

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

Mesa against the rest of the dataset

About 517,151 people live in Mesa, AZ, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Among all 3,206 cities here, Mesa ranks 2,275 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.