Niles, IL's night sky, measured from orbit

Satellite radiance puts Niles in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Niles's sky is brighter than 61.7% 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.

Where to go for a darker sky near Niles

5 miles from Niles, straight-line, sits Wilmette, IL, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Niles's own suburban band.

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

How Niles compares nationally

About 29,918 people live in Niles, IL, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Niles places 1,967 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.