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Stars tonight

Stargazing tonight: can I see the stars?

Pick a city for tonight's stargazing score, the best hours of the next four nights, the moon, its Bortle class and the darkest sky within 100 km. 201 cities.

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Cities

The Bortle scale

ClassSkyFaintest starWhat you see
Bortle 1excellent dark-sky site7.6–8.0The Milky Way is bright enough to cast faint shadows, the zodiacal light and airglow are visible, and thousands of stars reach down to the horizon.
Bortle 2truly dark sky7.1–7.5The Milky Way is full of detail, faint airglow may show near the horizon, and clouds look like black holes against the stars.
Bortle 3rural sky6.6–7.0The Milky Way is rich and textured overhead; distant towns are only a faint glow low on the horizon.
Bortle 4rural/suburban transition6.1–6.5The Milky Way is clearly visible overhead but loses detail towards the horizon, where the light domes of towns rise in several directions.
Bortle 5suburban sky5.6–6.0The Milky Way is weak and washed out, visible overhead only on the best nights; light domes cover much of the horizon.
Bortle 6bright suburban sky5.1–5.5The Milky Way is at most a faint trace straight up on the clearest nights; the sky is grey up to 35° above the horizon.
Bortle 7suburban/urban transition4.6–5.0The Milky Way is invisible; the whole sky has a grey-orange glow and only the main constellations stand out.
Bortle 8city sky4.1–4.5The sky glows orange or white: the Moon, the planets and a few dozen bright stars, enough to trace Orion or the Plough.
Bortle 9inner-city sky4.0Only the Moon, the planets and the very brightest stars get through the glow; the Milky Way is out of reach.