Rockford, IL Night Sky Brightness
What the night sky looks like over Rockford, IL
Rockford reads as suburban on this dataset's scale. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. That's brighter than 53.3% of the 3,206 US cities in this dataset.
The number comes from orbit, not a stargazer's logbook, so treat it as an estimate of sky glow rather than a certified Bortle class - the Bortle scale guide covers why.
Where to go for a darker sky near Rockford
6 miles from Rockford, straight-line, sits Loves Park, IL, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Rockford's own suburban band.
Loves Park, IL is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.
Rockford against the rest of the dataset
Rockford, IL has a population of about 147,486, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Among all 3,206 cities here, Rockford ranks 1,701 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured, by the sampling the methodology guide documents.