Ridgecrest, CA Night Sky Brightness
Ridgecrest, CA's night sky, measured from orbit
Ridgecrest's sky measures suburban here. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Ridgecrest's sky is brighter than 67.2% 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, explained in the Bortle scale guide.
The nearest darker sky to Ridgecrest
35 miles from Ridgecrest, straight-line, sits California City, CA, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Ridgecrest's own suburban band.
California City, 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 Ridgecrest compares nationally
Ridgecrest, CA counts roughly 28,373 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Ridgecrest's position, 2,143 of 3,206, darkest to brightest, comes from the sampling method the methodology guide sets out.