Rockville, MD Night Sky Brightness
Rockville, MD's night sky, measured from orbit
Rockville 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 84.5% 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 Rockville
The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is New Carrollton, MD, roughly 17 miles away in a straight line, rated suburban edge. Road distance will be more.
New Carrollton, MD is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.
How Rockville compares nationally
About 68,417 people live in Rockville, MD, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Rockville's position, 2,695 of 3,206, darkest to brightest, comes from the sampling method the methodology guide sets out.