Stargaze Atlas

West Memphis, AR — light pollution & stargazing

Arkansas · Very poor — city glow · population 25,052

West Memphis, Arkansas has a light-pollution rating of about Bortle 8 — a city sky (very poor — city glow) — measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights at 46 nW/cm²/sr at the town center. The sky is bright enough to read by. Only the Moon, the planets, and the few brightest stars and clusters are visible — the constellations lose most of their fainter stars. The nearest genuinely darker skies are around Marion, AR (about 5 mi away, Bortle 7). Tonight's Moon phase, cloud cover, and aurora odds load live below, computed in your browser. This is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness measurement.

Stargazing in West Memphis tonight

Light-pollution reading West Memphis, AR · VIIRS 2024
Estimated Bortle class
8 of 9

City sky. A satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning — not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading.

VIIRS radiance (town center)
46 nW/cm²/sr
Naked-eye limiting mag.
4.1–4.5
Milky Way
not visible

What you can see from West Memphis

The sky is bright enough to read by. Only the Moon, the planets, and the few brightest stars and clusters are visible — the constellations lose most of their fainter stars.

Darker skies within reach

The nearest town in each darker class — your ladder from West Memphis's sky toward truly dark skies.

Nearer, darker towns from West Memphis — nearest first.
Town State Bortle Sky Drive
Marion AR 7 Suburban / urban transition 5 mi
Horn Lake MS 6 Bright suburban sky 16 mi
Byram MS 5 Suburban sky 205 mi
Carriere MS 4 Rural / suburban transition 315 mi

Frequently asked questions

Can you see the Milky Way from West Memphis, AR?
Not really. At about Bortle 8 the Milky Way is not visible from West Memphis — the sky is too light-polluted. The nearest genuinely dark skies are around Marion, AR, about 5 mi away.
How dark is the sky in West Memphis?
West Memphis rates a city sky — about Bortle 8, with a naked-eye limiting magnitude around 4.1–4.5. That comes from a VIIRS satellite night-lights reading of 46 nW/cm²/sr at the town center. It is a satellite proxy for planning, not a survey-grade measurement.
Where is the nearest dark sky to West Memphis?
The nearest town with genuinely darker skies is Marion, AR — about 5 mi away at roughly Bortle 7. See the "darker skies within reach" list on this page for more options.
Can I see the aurora from West Memphis tonight?
It depends on tonight's space weather. The live panel on this page reads the current NOAA aurora forecast for your latitude, along with cloud cover and the Moon — most U.S. locations only see aurora during strong geomagnetic storms.
How to read this rating

The darkness rating is measured from VIIRS satellite night-lights at the town center and is a proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness measurement — and the darkest skies are usually a short drive out of any town. Tonight's Moon, cloud, and aurora figures are live third-party forecasts that can change. See the methodology for sources and limits.

More in Arkansas

See every town's darkness rating in Arkansas, learn to read the Bortle scale, or check tonight's Moon phase.