How dark is the sky in Mountain View, CA?

Mountain View reads as suburban on this dataset's scale. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Mountain View's sky is brighter than 74.5% of the 3,206 cities in this dataset.

Worth remembering: this is satellite radiance, not a ground observation. A true Bortle rating needs a human eye at night, this is the closest large-scale substitute.

How far Mountain View is from a meaningfully darker sky

Los Altos, CA, about 2 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the rural band, one step darker than Mountain View. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

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

Mountain View against the rest of the dataset

About 87,316 people live in Mountain View, CA, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Among all 3,206 cities here, Mountain View ranks 2,375 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.