Newton, NC's night sky, measured from orbit

Satellite radiance puts Newton 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. Newton's sky is brighter than 37.8% of the 3,206 cities in this dataset.

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

How far Newton is from a meaningfully darker sky

26 miles from Newton, straight-line, sits Davidson, NC, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Newton's own suburban edge band.

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

How Newton compares nationally

Newton, NC has a population of about 13,571, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Newton places 1,206 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.