Ruston, LA's night sky, measured from orbit

Ruston reads as suburban on this dataset's scale. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Ruston's sky is brighter than 81.6% 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.

How far Ruston is from a meaningfully darker sky

38 miles from Ruston, straight-line, sits Minden, LA, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Ruston's own suburban band.

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

How Ruston compares nationally

Ruston, LA has a population of about 22,330, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Ruston places 2,601 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.