Rochester, NY Night Sky Brightness
Rochester, NY's night sky, measured from orbit
Rochester's sky measures suburban here. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. That's brighter than 83.2% 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, explained in the Bortle scale guide.
Where to go for a darker sky near Rochester
The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Canandaigua, NY, roughly 26 miles away in a straight line, rated suburban edge. Road distance will be more.
Canandaigua, NY is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.
How Rochester compares nationally
About 207,282 people live in Rochester, NY, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Rochester's position, 2,651 of 3,206, darkest to brightest, comes from the sampling method the methodology guide sets out.