Stargaze Atlas

Detroit, MI — light pollution & stargazing across the metro

Michigan · Very poor — city glow · 60 towns · 3,041,043 people in this light dome

The Detroit, MI light dome covers 60 towns and about 3,041,043 people rated together, reading roughly Bortle 9 — a inner-city sky (very poor — city glow) — at Detroit itself, measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights. The darkest edge of this same dome is West Bloomfield Township, about 24 mi out, at roughly Bortle 5. The nearest certified dark-sky destination is Lake Hudson State Recreation Area, about 70 mi away. Tonight's Moon phase, cloud cover, and aurora odds load live below, computed in your browser.

Stargazing at the Detroit core tonight

Light-pollution reading — dome core Detroit, MI · VIIRS 2024
Estimated Bortle class (core)
9 of 9

Inner-city sky.

VIIRS radiance (core)
347 nW/cm²/sr
Naked-eye limiting mag. (core)
under 4.1
Darkest edge of this dome
West Bloomfield Township · B5 · 24 mi

What you can see from the Detroit 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 Detroit itself on a clear, moonless night run to about magnitude 4.0 or brighter, and the Milky Way is not visible. West Bloomfield Township is a regional drive away (24 mi) and improves to roughly Bortle 5.

Of the 60 towns rated in this dome, most read Bortle 7 (24 towns) — spread across 5 darkness classes overall. Beyond Detroit itself, Warren, Sterling Heights, Clinton Township round out the largest towns sharing this same light dome.

The sky from 42.3°N

Declination above +47.7° never sets here, and below −47.7° never rises — no matter how clear the night or how long you wait.

Geometric, from 42.331°N, 83.046°W. How these are computed.

Every town in this light dome, darkest first

All 60 towns inside Detroit's ~35-mile dome, each with its own measured reading.

Detroit metro towns, darkest sky first.
Town State Bortle Sky Radiance
West Bloomfield Township MI 5 Suburban sky 5.4
Farmington Hills MI 5 Suburban sky 7.3
Grosse Ile MI 5 Suburban sky 7.9
Clinton Township MI 6 Bright suburban sky 10
Troy MI 6 Bright suburban sky 11
Waterford MI 6 Bright suburban sky 11
New Baltimore MI 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Auburn Hills MI 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Rochester Hills MI 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Canton MI 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Romulus MI 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Beverly Hills MI 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Saint Clair Shores MI 6 Bright suburban sky 20
South Lyon MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Wixom MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Clawson MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Riverview MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
Harper Woods MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Berkley MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Southgate MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Westland MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
Fraser MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
Farmington MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Grosse Pointe Woods MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
Grosse Pointe Park MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
Southfield MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Garden City MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Monroe MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Shelby MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Trenton MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Ypsilanti MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Allen Park MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Warren MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
Madison Heights MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
Eastpointe MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Taylor MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Inkster MI 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Lincoln Park MI 8 City sky 40
Dearborn Heights MI 8 City sky 41
Melvindale MI 8 City sky 41
Rochester MI 8 City sky 42
Ferndale MI 8 City sky 43
Roseville MI 8 City sky 43
Redford MI 8 City sky 45
Woodhaven MI 8 City sky 47
Oak Park MI 8 City sky 48
Wyandotte MI 8 City sky 49
Birmingham MI 8 City sky 50
Hazel Park MI 8 City sky 50
Hamtramck MI 8 City sky 51
Livonia MI 8 City sky 51
Novi MI 8 City sky 53
Pontiac MI 8 City sky 54
Highland Park MI 8 City sky 55
Wayne MI 8 City sky 56
Sterling Heights MI 8 City sky 65
Mount Clemens MI 8 City sky 70
Royal Oak MI 8 City sky 72
Dearborn MI 8 City sky 78
Detroit MI 9 Inner-city sky 347

Certified dark-sky destinations near Detroit

Certified International Dark Sky Places within reach of Detroit — nearest first.
PlaceDesignationDistance
Lake Hudson State Recreation Area Dark-sky preserve 70 mi
Potawatomi Wildlife Park Dark-sky preserve 175 mi
Negwegon State Park Dark-sky preserve 175 mi
Beverly Shores Dark Sky Community 205 mi
Thompson's Harbor State Park Dark-sky preserve 210 mi

Other light domes near Detroit

Cleveland, OH (90 mi, core Bortle 9) , Columbus, OH (165 mi, core Bortle 9) , and Dayton, OH (185 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 Detroit?
Not from Detroit itself — at about Bortle 9 the dome is too bright. The darkest edge of the same metro is West Bloomfield Township, about 24 mi out at roughly Bortle 5, or drive to the certified Lake Hudson State Recreation Area (70 mi) for a genuinely dark sky.
How dark is the sky across the Detroit metro?
It varies by how close you are to the core. Detroit itself reads about Bortle 9; the 60 towns in this light dome range down to West Bloomfield Township at roughly Bortle 5, about 24 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 Detroit?
Lake Hudson State Recreation Area (Dark-sky preserve), about 70 mi away.
How to read this rating

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

More in Michigan

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