Santa Fe, NM's night sky, measured from orbit

Satellite radiance puts Santa Fe in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. Only 83% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Santa Fe.

Note the source: a satellite reading of upward light, not a visual Bortle scale reading. The two measure related but different things.

How far Santa Fe is from a meaningfully darker sky

Española, NM, about 24 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the suburban edge band, one step darker than Santa Fe. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

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

How Santa Fe compares nationally

Santa Fe, NM counts roughly 90,551 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Santa Fe places 2,647 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.