Washington, DC Night Sky Brightness
How dark is the sky in Washington, DC?
Satellite radiance puts Washington in the inner-city band. Among the brightest skies in this dataset. Usually just the Moon and a few of the brightest stars or planets cut through. Only 99.8% of the 3,206 cities measured here read darker than Washington.
Worth remembering: this is satellite radiance, not a ground observation. A true Bortle rating needs a human eye at night, this is the closest large-scale substitute, covered fully in the Bortle scale guide.
The nearest darker sky to Washington
The closest place in this dataset with a meaningfully darker sky is Hyattsville, MD, roughly 5 miles away in a straight line, rated suburban. Road distance will be more.
Hyattsville, MD is itself still a measured city, not a designated dark-sky park, this only compares against the 3,206 places this dataset covers.
Washington against the rest of the dataset
Washington, DC has a population of about 702,250, one of 3,206 US cities of 10,000 or more residents in this dataset. Ranked against the other 3,206 cities here by the methodology guide's own sampling, Washington comes in at 3,183, darkest to brightest.