Wheeling, WV's night sky, measured from orbit

Satellite radiance puts Wheeling in the suburban band. Light dome dominates much of the sky. Only the brightest stars and planets stand out clearly. That's brighter than 67.1% 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.

How far Wheeling is from a meaningfully darker sky

Weirton, WV, about 24 miles away as the crow flies, measures in the rural band, one step darker than Wheeling. Actual driving distance will run longer than that straight-line figure.

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

How Wheeling compares nationally

Wheeling, WV counts roughly 26,060 residents, among the 3,206 US cities this site tracks. Wheeling places 2,138 of 3,206 cities in this dataset's darkest-to-brightest order.