Stargaze Atlas

Kentucky dark-sky map — light pollution by town

49 towns rated · darkest: Burlington · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

Kentucky has 49 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Burlington (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. It also holds 1 certified International Dark Sky Place, listed below with the nearest rated town to each. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide Kentucky · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
49

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

Darkest town
Burlington
Genuinely dark towns
0
Certified dark-sky places
1

Certified dark-sky places in Kentucky

One site in Kentucky holds an International Dark Sky Place certification — awarded for actively protecting the night sky, not measured from orbit like the town ratings below. What each designation means →

Certified International Dark Sky Places in Kentucky.
Place Designation Coordinates Nearest rated town Distance That town's sky
Pickett Civilian Conservation Corps Memorial State Park Dark Sky Park 36.552°N, 84.797°W Somerset 39 mi B7

All Kentucky towns by darkness

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

Kentucky towns, darkest sky first.
Sky Nearest darker sky
Burlington 6 Bright suburban sky 9.1 Beavercreek, OH — B5, 59 mi
Meads 6 Bright suburban sky 9.6 Beavercreek, OH — B5, 115 mi
Independence 6 Bright suburban sky 11 Beavercreek, OH — B5, 59 mi
Fort Thomas 6 Bright suburban sky 14 Beavercreek, OH — B5, 48 mi
Shelbyville 6 Bright suburban sky 15 Beavercreek, OH — B5, 120 mi
Bardstown 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Beavercreek, OH — B5, 150 mi
Radcliff 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Clayton, OH — B5, 165 mi
Fort Knox 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Clayton, OH — B5, 160 mi
Lawrenceburg 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Beavercreek, OH — B5, 125 mi
Berea 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Seymour, TN — B5, 120 mi
Shepherdsville 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Beavercreek, OH — B5, 150 mi
Winchester 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Berea — B6, 30 mi
Mayfield 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Paris, TN — B6, 35 mi
Middlesboro 7 Suburban / urban transition 23 Seymour, TN — B5, 50 mi
Nicholasville 7 Suburban / urban transition 23 Lawrenceburg — B6, 21 mi
Erlanger 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Independence — B6, 6 mi
Glasgow 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Radcliff — B6, 58 mi
Mount Washington 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Shepherdsville — B6, 10 mi
Henderson 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Fort Knox — B6, 89 mi
Lexington 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Lawrenceburg — B6, 23 mi
Georgetown 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Lawrenceburg — B6, 22 mi
Highview 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Shepherdsville — B6, 12 mi
Shively 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Shepherdsville — B6, 16 mi
Valley Station 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 Shepherdsville — B6, 12 mi
Somerset 7 Suburban / urban transition 29 Berea — B6, 37 mi
Florence 7 Suburban / urban transition 29 Burlington — B6, 6 mi
Elizabethtown 7 Suburban / urban transition 31 Radcliff — B6, 11 mi
Fern Creek 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Shepherdsville — B6, 14 mi
Paducah 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Paris, TN — B6, 56 mi
Frankfort 7 Suburban / urban transition 34 Lawrenceburg — B6, 11 mi
Fort Campbell North 7 Suburban / urban transition 37 Paris, TN — B6, 54 mi
Campbellsville 7 Suburban / urban transition 38 Bardstown — B6, 33 mi
Madisonville 7 Suburban / urban transition 40 Paris, TN — B6, 84 mi
Murray 8 City sky 40 Mayfield — B7, 20 mi
Hopkinsville 8 City sky 42 Fort Campbell North — B7, 15 mi
Jeffersontown 8 City sky 42 Fern Creek — B7, 3 mi
Okolona 8 City sky 42 Highview — B7, 4 mi
Lyndon 8 City sky 43 Fern Creek — B7, 7 mi
Danville 8 City sky 44 Nicholasville — B7, 20 mi
Saint Matthews 8 City sky 51 Clarksville, IN — B7, 6 mi
Newburg 8 City sky 52 Highview — B7, 2 mi
Richmond 8 City sky 54 Berea — B6, 12 mi
Ashland 8 City sky 55 Ironton, OH — B7, 5 mi
Newport 8 City sky 59 Fort Thomas — B6, 3 mi
Bowling Green 8 City sky 62 Portland, TN — B7, 29 mi
Covington 8 City sky 65 Fort Thomas — B6, 3 mi
Owensboro 8 City sky 66 Henderson — B7, 26 mi
Lexington-Fayette 8 City sky 79 Lexington — B7, 4 mi
Louisville 9 Inner-city sky 134 Jeffersonville, IN — B8, 2 mi

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in Kentucky?
The darkest town tracked here is Burlington, but the genuinely dark skies in Kentucky are its 1 certified International Dark Sky Place — Pickett Civilian Conservation Corps Memorial State Park — listed further down with the nearest rated town to each.
How many dark-sky towns does Kentucky have?
Of 49 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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Bortle scale · Meteor showers · Dark-sky map · Search all towns