Pontiac, MI's night sky, measured from orbit

Pontiac reads as suburban on this dataset's scale. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Only 60.4% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Pontiac.

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 Pontiac

The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Rochester Hills, MI, roughly 7 miles away in a straight line, rated suburban edge. Road distance will be more.

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

How Pontiac compares nationally

Pontiac, MI counts roughly 62,528 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Pontiac places 1,926 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.