Observed arrival · 2026-08-28
DarkSkyCheck Measures the Night Sky City by City
A free lookup that uses satellite radiance data to estimate night-sky brightness across 3,206 US cities.
○Open
⊠Login
$Paid
†Ads
✦Pretty
●Pro
◎Niche
◉Human
⚑Risk
ƒJS
Field notes
DarkSkyCheck converts NOAA VIIRS radiance readings into six descriptive bands rather than presenting them as Bortle classes. Its coverage is limited to incorporated US cities of at least 10,000 people, and the homepage explicitly says it cannot represent true wilderness darkness at backyard-level resolution. City pages add a nearest darker city and straight-line distance, while noting that actual driving routes will be longer.
Observed signals
Read the marks
Editorial observations of this landing page, not a rating.
○OpenPublic substance visible
✦PrettyNotable craft visible
●ProPolished or operationally mature
◎NicheUnusually specific use
One card from the complete issue