Stargaze Atlas

Kansas dark-sky map — light pollution by town

36 towns rated · darkest: Shawnee · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

Kansas has 36 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Shawnee (Bortle 6) — to its brightest city cores, with 0 rating as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Every town is listed with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. No site in the state holds an International Dark Sky Place certification, so its darkest skies are the rural towns at the top of the table. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide Kansas · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
36

0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).

Darkest town
Shawnee
Genuinely dark towns
0
Certified dark-sky places
0

Nearest certified dark-sky places to Kansas

No site in Kansas holds an International Dark Sky Place certification. Measured from Shawnee, the state's darkest rated town, these are the nearest certified destinations — all 92 are on the map.

Nearest certified International Dark Sky Places to Shawnee, Kansas.
Place Designation State From Shawnee
Buffalo National River Dark Sky Park Arkansas 235 mi
Middle Fork River Forest Preserve Dark Sky Park Illinois 370 mi
Homer Glen Dark Sky Community Illinois 400 mi

All Kansas towns by darkness

Darkest sky first, each with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. Sort or filter below.

Kansas towns, darkest sky first.
Sky Nearest darker sky
Shawnee 6 Bright suburban sky 11 Bella Vista, AR — B5, 180 mi
Gardner 6 Bright suburban sky 14 Bella Vista, AR — B5, 165 mi
El Dorado 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Bella Vista, AR — B5, 170 mi
Leavenworth 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Bella Vista, AR — B5, 200 mi
Leawood 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Bella Vista, AR — B5, 175 mi
Derby 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 El Dorado — B6, 29 mi
Ottawa 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Gardner — B6, 23 mi
Andover 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 El Dorado — B6, 17 mi
Lansing 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Leavenworth — B6, 5 mi
Haysville 7 Suburban / urban transition 23 El Dorado — B6, 32 mi
Newton 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 El Dorado — B6, 31 mi
Arkansas City 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 El Dorado — B6, 53 mi
Prairie Village 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Leawood — B6, 2 mi
Pittsburg 7 Suburban / urban transition 29 Neosho, MO — B6, 42 mi
Emporia 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 El Dorado — B6, 55 mi
Atchison 7 Suburban / urban transition 36 Leavenworth — B6, 20 mi
Hays 7 Suburban / urban transition 37 El Dorado — B6, 150 mi
Winfield 7 Suburban / urban transition 37 El Dorado — B6, 41 mi
Liberal 7 Suburban / urban transition 37 Guymon, OK — B6, 40 mi
Junction City 7 Suburban / urban transition 37 El Dorado — B6, 84 mi
Parsons 7 Suburban / urban transition 38 Neosho, MO — B6, 59 mi
Overland Park 7 Suburban / urban transition 39 Leawood — B6, 3 mi
Manhattan 8 City sky 43 Junction City — B7, 18 mi
Olathe 8 City sky 44 Gardner — B6, 8 mi
Garden City 8 City sky 45 Liberal — B7, 64 mi
McPherson 8 City sky 45 Newton — B7, 28 mi
Great Bend 8 City sky 45 Hays — B7, 47 mi
Hutchinson 8 City sky 45 Newton — B7, 32 mi
Lenexa 8 City sky 45 Overland Park — B7, 4 mi
Dodge City 8 City sky 47 Liberal — B7, 70 mi
Salina 8 City sky 48 Junction City — B7, 44 mi
Lawrence 8 City sky 50 Gardner — B6, 20 mi
Merriam 8 City sky 70 Shawnee — B6, 2 mi
Kansas City 8 City sky 85 Shawnee — B6, 7 mi
Topeka 8 City sky 96 Ottawa — B7, 37 mi
Wichita 9 Inner-city sky 134 Haysville — B7, 9 mi

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in Kansas?
The darkest town tracked here is Shawnee. Sort the table on this page by darkness to see the full ranking, from the most rural, star-filled skies down to the brightest city cores.
How many dark-sky towns does Kansas have?
Of 36 towns rated here, 0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better) — good for seeing the Milky Way on a clear, moonless night.
How are these light-pollution ratings measured?
From VIIRS 2024 annual-average satellite night-lights, sampled at each town's center and mapped to a darkness class and an estimated Bortle band. It is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading. See the methodology page for details.

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