Patterson, CA's night sky, measured from orbit

Satellite radiance puts Patterson in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. That's brighter than 63.7% of the 3,206 US 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.

The nearest darker sky to Patterson

The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Riverbank, CA, roughly 21 miles away in a straight line, rated suburban edge. Road distance will be more.

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

How Patterson compares nationally

Patterson, CA has a population of about 25,495, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Patterson places 2,031 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.