Can you see the Milky Way from Chicago?

Not from Chicago itself — at about Bortle 9 the dome is too bright. The darkest edge of the same metro is Schererville, about 28 mi out at roughly Bortle 6, or drive to the certified Homer Glen (23 mi) for a genuinely dark sky.

How dark is the sky across the Chicago metro?

It varies by how close you are to the core. Chicago itself reads about Bortle 9; the 141 towns in this light dome range down to Schererville at roughly Bortle 6, about 28 mi from the core. The table above sorts every town in the metro by measured darkness.

Where's the nearest certified dark-sky destination to Chicago?

Homer Glen (Dark Sky Community), about 23 mi away.

Chicago, IL — light pollution & stargazing across the metro

Illinois · Very poor — city glow · 141 towns · 7,002,844 people in this light dome

The Chicago, IL light dome covers 141 towns and about 7,002,844 people rated together, reading roughly Bortle 9 — a inner-city sky (very poor — city glow) — at Chicago itself, measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights. The darkest edge of this same dome is Schererville, about 28 mi out, at roughly Bortle 6. The nearest certified dark-sky destination is Homer Glen, about 23 mi away. Tonight's Moon phase, cloud cover, and aurora odds load live below, computed in your browser.

1–2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

← darker sky You: Bortle 9 · Inner-city sky brighter →

Stargazing at the Chicago core tonight

Light-pollution reading — dome core Chicago, IL · VIIRS 2024

Estimated Bortle class (core): 9 of 9
VIIRS radiance (core): 108 nW/cm²/sr
Naked-eye limiting mag. (core): under 4.1
Darkest edge of this dome: Schererville · B6 · 28 mi

What you can see from the Chicago core

Only the Moon, the bright planets, and a scattering of the very brightest stars pierce the glow. For real stargazing you'll want to drive to a darker site.

At an estimated Bortle 9, the faintest stars visible from Chicago itself on a clear, moonless night run to about magnitude 4.0 or brighter, and the Milky Way is not visible. Schererville is a regional drive away (28 mi) and improves to roughly Bortle 6.

Of the 141 towns rated in this dome, most read Bortle 7 (77 towns) — spread across 4 darkness classes overall. Beyond Chicago itself, Joliet, Naperville, Elgin round out the largest towns sharing this same light dome.

The sky from 41.9°N

Declination above +48.1° never sets here, and below −48.1° never rises — no matter how clear the night or how long you wait.

Never sets: Polaris, the Big Dipper
Never rises: Canopus, Alpha Centauri, the Southern Cross
Skims the southern horizon: the Milky Way core (peaks 19° up), Fomalhaut (peaks 19° up)
Milky Way core: culminates 19.2° above the southern horizon — it sits low in the south, so a clear, unobstructed southern horizon matters more here than darkness overhead.
Longest night: 15 h 03 m at the December solstice, 8 h 57 m in June.
Midsummer: the Sun reaches only 24.7° below the horizon at solar midnight in June — past the 18° astronomical-night mark.

Geometric, from 41.850°N, 87.650°W. How these are computed.

Every town in this light dome, darkest first

All 141 towns inside Chicago's ~35-mile dome, each with its own measured reading.

Chicago metro towns, darkest sky first.
Town	State	Bortle	Sky	Radiance
Schererville	IN	6	Bright suburban sky	11
Mokena	IL	6	Bright suburban sky	13
Homer Glen	IL	6	Bright suburban sky	13
Sauk Village	IL	6	Bright suburban sky	13
Vernon Hills	IL	6	Bright suburban sky	14
Mundelein	IL	6	Bright suburban sky	14
Glenview	IL	6	Bright suburban sky	15
Lake Station	IN	6	Bright suburban sky	15
Lake Forest	IL	6	Bright suburban sky	15
Winnetka	IL	6	Bright suburban sky	16
Woodridge	IL	6	Bright suburban sky	17
Hobart	IN	6	Bright suburban sky	17
Chesterton	IN	6	Bright suburban sky	17
Lombard	IL	6	Bright suburban sky	18
Wilmette	IL	6	Bright suburban sky	18
Streamwood	IL	6	Bright suburban sky	18
South Elgin	IL	6	Bright suburban sky	19
Crown Point	IN	6	Bright suburban sky	20
Portage	IN	7	Suburban / urban transition	21
Bartlett	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	21
Highland	IN	7	Suburban / urban transition	22
Westchester	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	22
Rolling Meadows	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	22
Frankfort	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	22
Northbrook	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	22
Glendale Heights	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	23
Hinsdale	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	23
Palos Heights	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	23
Lake Zurich	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	23
La Grange Park	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	23
Westmont	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	23
Country Club Hills	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	23
Richton Park	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	23
New Lenox	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	23
Highland Park	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	23
La Grange	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	24
Crest Hill	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	24
Evanston	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	25
Goodings Grove	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	25
Prospect Heights	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	25
Villa Park	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	26
Western Springs	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	26
Warrenville	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	26
Griffith	IN	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
Hickory Hills	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
Barrington	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
Carol Stream	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
Hanover Park	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
Park Ridge	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
Gary	IN	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
Lisle	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	28
Wood Dale	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	28
Saint John	IN	7	Suburban / urban transition	28
Skokie	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	28
West Chicago	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	28
Hoffman Estates	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	28
Romeoville	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	29
Morton Grove	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	29
Homewood	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	29
Lemont	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	29
Glen Ellyn	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	30
Oak Forest	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	30
Matteson	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	30
Batavia	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	30
Downers Grove	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	31
Deerfield	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	31
Libertyville	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	31
Darien	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	31
Dyer	IN	7	Suburban / urban transition	31
Oak Lawn	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	31
Burr Ridge	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	31
Des Plaines	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	32
Lockport	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	33
Markham	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	33
Bensenville	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	33
Palos Hills	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	33
Tinley Park	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	34
Midlothian	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	34
River Forest	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	34
Norridge	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	35
Brookfield	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	35
Park Forest	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	35
Roselle	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	35
Mount Prospect	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	35
Bloomingdale	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
Riverdale	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
Merrillville	IN	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
Worth	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
Lyons	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	37
Geneva	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	37
Calumet City	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	38
Schaumburg	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	39
Hammond	IN	7	Suburban / urban transition	39
Justice	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	39
Lansing	IL	7	Suburban / urban transition	40
River Grove	IL	8	City sky	40
Oak Park	IL	8	City sky	42
St. Charles	IL	8	City sky	42
Burbank	IL	8	City sky	42
Palatine	IL	8	City sky	42
South Holland	IL	8	City sky	42
Buffalo Grove	IL	8	City sky	42
Northlake	IL	8	City sky	43
Elmhurst	IL	8	City sky	44
Naperville	IL	8	City sky	44
Hazel Crest	IL	8	City sky	44
Arlington Heights	IL	8	City sky	46
Wheaton	IL	8	City sky	46
Chicago Heights	IL	8	City sky	48
Maywood	IL	8	City sky	48
Munster	IN	8	City sky	49
Plainfield	IL	8	City sky	50
Crestwood	IL	8	City sky	50
Lincolnwood	IL	8	City sky	50
Elmwood Park	IL	8	City sky	51
Blue Island	IL	8	City sky	51
Evergreen Park	IL	8	City sky	51
Dolton	IL	8	City sky	52
Franklin Park	IL	8	City sky	52
North Chicago	IL	8	City sky	53
Bellwood	IL	8	City sky	53
Berwyn	IL	8	City sky	55
Bolingbrook	IL	8	City sky	55
Schiller Park	IL	8	City sky	55
Niles	IL	8	City sky	55
Harvey	IL	8	City sky	55
Chicago Ridge	IL	8	City sky	57
Addison	IL	8	City sky	61
Melrose Park	IL	8	City sky	61
Elk Grove Village	IL	8	City sky	62
Alsip	IL	8	City sky	62
East Chicago	IN	8	City sky	63
Bridgeview	IL	8	City sky	63
Forest Park	IL	8	City sky	63
Orland Park	IL	8	City sky	64
Wheeling	IL	8	City sky	64
Summit	IL	8	City sky	75
Elgin	IL	8	City sky	80
Joliet	IL	8	City sky	88
Cicero	IL	9	Inner-city sky	100
Chicago	IL	9	Inner-city sky	108

Certified dark-sky destinations near Chicago

Certified International Dark Sky Places within reach of Chicago — nearest first.
Place	Designation	Distance
Homer Glen	Dark Sky Community	23 mi
Beverly Shores	Dark Sky Community	36 mi
Potawatomi Wildlife Park	Dark-sky preserve	91 mi
Middle Fork River Forest Preserve	Dark Sky Park	105 mi
Lake Hudson State Recreation Area	Dark-sky preserve	175 mi
Newport State Park	Dark Sky Park	235 mi

Other light domes near Chicago

Aurora, IL (35 mi, core Bortle 8) , Milwaukee, WI (83 mi, core Bortle 9) , and Indianapolis, IN (165 mi, core Bortle 9) are the closest other metro-scale domes tracked here — each with its own core reading and its own darkest edge.

Frequently asked questions

Can you see the Milky Way from Chicago?: Not from Chicago itself — at about Bortle 9 the dome is too bright. The darkest edge of the same metro is Schererville, about 28 mi out at roughly Bortle 6, or drive to the certified Homer Glen (23 mi) for a genuinely dark sky.
How dark is the sky across the Chicago metro?: It varies by how close you are to the core. Chicago itself reads about Bortle 9; the 141 towns in this light dome range down to Schererville at roughly Bortle 6, about 28 mi from the core. The table above sorts every town in the metro by measured darkness.
Where's the nearest certified dark-sky destination to Chicago?: Homer Glen (Dark Sky Community), about 23 mi away.

How to read this rating

A satellite proxy, not a survey-grade reading. Sources and limits.

More in Illinois

All Illinois towns · Bortle scale · Tonight's Moon · Dark-sky map