Petal, MS's night sky, measured from orbit

Satellite radiance puts Petal in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Petal's sky is brighter than 47% 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 Petal is from a meaningfully darker sky

The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Picayune, MS, roughly 62 miles away in a straight line, rated suburban edge. Road distance will be more.

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

How Petal compares nationally

Petal, MS has a population of about 11,538, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Petal places 1,499 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.