Stargaze Atlas

Maine dark-sky map — light pollution by town

16 towns rated · darkest: York Beach · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

Maine has 16 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — York Beach (Bortle 5) — 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 Maine · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
16

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

Darkest town
York Beach
Genuinely dark towns
0
Certified dark-sky places
1

Certified dark-sky places in Maine

One site in Maine 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 Maine.
Place Designation Coordinates Nearest rated town Distance That town's sky
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument Dark Sky Sanctuary 45.970°N, 68.619°W Bangor 81 mi B8

All Maine towns by darkness

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

Maine towns, darkest sky first.
Sky Nearest darker sky
York Beach 5 Suburban sky 3.4 Westford, MA — B4, 59 mi
West Scarborough 5 Suburban sky 5.8 Westford, MA — B4, 87 mi
Wells Beach Station 5 Suburban sky 7.3 Westford, MA — B4, 67 mi
South Portland 6 Bright suburban sky 11 West Scarborough — B5, 9 mi
Westbrook 6 Bright suburban sky 16 West Scarborough — B5, 7 mi
Saco 6 Bright suburban sky 17 West Scarborough — B5, 6 mi
Sanford 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Wells Beach Station — B5, 12 mi
Brunswick 6 Bright suburban sky 17 West Scarborough — B5, 32 mi
Biddeford 6 Bright suburban sky 19 West Scarborough — B5, 6 mi
Waterville 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Brunswick — B6, 47 mi
Auburn 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Brunswick — B6, 18 mi
Augusta 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 Brunswick — B6, 29 mi
South Portland Gardens 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 South Portland — B6, 4 mi
Bangor 8 City sky 42 Waterville — B7, 46 mi
Lewiston 8 City sky 46 Auburn — B7, 1 mi
Portland 8 City sky 62 South Portland — B6, 1 mi

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in Maine?
The darkest town tracked here is York Beach, but the genuinely dark skies in Maine are its 1 certified International Dark Sky Place — Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument — listed further down with the nearest rated town to each.
How many dark-sky towns does Maine have?
Of 16 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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