What the night sky looks like over Salem, VA

Satellite radiance puts Salem in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. That's brighter than 65.8% 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 nearest darker sky to Salem

22 miles from Salem, straight-line, sits Christiansburg, VA, the nearest city here with a darker sky than Salem's own suburban band.

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

Salem against the rest of the dataset

About 25,908 people live in Salem, VA, sized enough to appear in this dataset of 3,206 incorporated US cities. Among all 3,206 cities here, Salem ranks 2,099 from darkest to brightest, 1 being the darkest measured.