Stargaze Atlas

Los Angeles, CA — light pollution & stargazing across the metro

California · Very poor — city glow · 127 towns · 12,267,683 people in this light dome

The Los Angeles, CA light dome covers 127 towns and about 12,267,683 people rated together, reading roughly Bortle 9 — a inner-city sky (very poor — city glow) — at Los Angeles itself, measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights. The darkest edge of this same dome is Agoura Hills, about 31 mi out, at roughly Bortle 4. The nearest certified dark-sky destination is Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, about 120 mi away. Tonight's Moon phase, cloud cover, and aurora odds load live below, computed in your browser.

Stargazing at the Los Angeles core tonight

Light-pollution reading — dome core Los Angeles, CA · VIIRS 2024
Estimated Bortle class (core)
9 of 9

Inner-city sky.

VIIRS radiance (core)
149 nW/cm²/sr
Naked-eye limiting mag. (core)
under 4.1
Darkest edge of this dome
Agoura Hills · B4 · 31 mi

What you can see from the Los Angeles 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 Los Angeles itself on a clear, moonless night run to about magnitude 4.0 or brighter, and the Milky Way is not visible. Agoura Hills is a regional drive away (31 mi) and improves to roughly Bortle 4.

Of the 127 towns rated in this dome, most read Bortle 8 (74 towns) — spread across 6 darkness classes overall. Beyond Los Angeles itself, Long Beach, Anaheim, Santa Ana round out the largest towns sharing this same light dome.

The sky from 34.1°N

Declination above +55.9° never sets here, and below −55.9° never rises — no matter how clear the night or how long you wait.

Geometric, from 34.052°N, 118.244°W. How these are computed.

Every town in this light dome, darkest first

All 127 towns inside Los Angeles's ~35-mile dome, each with its own measured reading.

Los Angeles metro towns, darkest sky first.
Town State Bortle Sky Radiance
Agoura Hills CA 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.9
Malibu CA 5 Suburban sky 4.7
Rancho Palos Verdes CA 5 Suburban sky 5.9
Palos Verdes Estates CA 5 Suburban sky 6.9
Vincent CA 5 Suburban sky 7.7
Oak Park CA 6 Bright suburban sky 12
North Tustin CA 6 Bright suburban sky 13
Seal Beach CA 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Manhattan Beach CA 6 Bright suburban sky 15
La Crescenta-Montrose CA 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Agoura CA 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Rowland Heights CA 6 Bright suburban sky 16
Rossmoor CA 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Chino Hills CA 6 Bright suburban sky 17
San Marino CA 6 Bright suburban sky 18
La Cañada Flintridge CA 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Sierra Madre CA 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Altadena CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Hermosa Beach CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
La Palma CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
Walnut CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Valencia CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 26
Yorba Linda CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Hacienda Heights CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 28
Cerritos CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
Santa Clarita CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
San Gabriel CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Temple City CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Simi Valley CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
Cypress CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
South Whittier CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Avocado Heights CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Vincent CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
South Pasadena CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
La Mirada CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Newport Beach CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
La Verne CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
Fountain Valley CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
Diamond Bar CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
West Puente Valley CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Monterey Park CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Valinda CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Huntington Beach CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Lomita CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
La Habra CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
Claremont CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Stevenson Ranch CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Norwalk CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Los Alamitos CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Citrus CA 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Thousand Oaks CA 8 City sky 41
Brea CA 8 City sky 42
Pomona CA 8 City sky 42
Westmont CA 8 City sky 42
Del Aire CA 8 City sky 42
Bellflower CA 8 City sky 43
East Rancho Dominguez CA 8 City sky 43
Orange CA 8 City sky 43
Montebello CA 8 City sky 44
Westminster CA 8 City sky 44
Pico Rivera CA 8 City sky 44
Tustin CA 8 City sky 45
West Carson CA 8 City sky 45
Lakewood CA 8 City sky 45
Upland CA 8 City sky 45
Lawndale CA 8 City sky 45
Willowbrook CA 8 City sky 45
Redondo Beach CA 8 City sky 46
San Dimas CA 8 City sky 46
Placentia CA 8 City sky 46
Hawaiian Gardens CA 8 City sky 46
Garden Grove CA 8 City sky 46
Baldwin Park CA 8 City sky 46
Rosemead CA 8 City sky 46
El Segundo CA 8 City sky 46
Florence-Graham CA 8 City sky 46
Glendora CA 8 City sky 46
Torrance CA 8 City sky 47
Stanton CA 8 City sky 47
Montclair CA 8 City sky 47
Arcadia CA 8 City sky 48
Bell Gardens CA 8 City sky 49
Costa Mesa CA 8 City sky 49
Carson CA 8 City sky 49
West Whittier-Los Nietos CA 8 City sky 50
Compton CA 8 City sky 50
Santa Fe Springs CA 8 City sky 50
South San Jose Hills CA 8 City sky 51
Hawthorne CA 8 City sky 51
Signal Hill CA 8 City sky 51
Whittier CA 8 City sky 52
Monrovia CA 8 City sky 52
East Los Angeles CA 8 City sky 53
Gardena CA 8 City sky 54
South El Monte CA 8 City sky 54
Artesia CA 8 City sky 55
Covina CA 8 City sky 55
West Covina CA 8 City sky 56
Fullerton CA 8 City sky 58
Chino CA 8 City sky 58
Walnut Park CA 8 City sky 58
Downey CA 8 City sky 58
Azusa CA 8 City sky 58
Ontario CA 8 City sky 59
Lennox CA 8 City sky 59
Lynwood CA 8 City sky 59
South Gate CA 8 City sky 60
Alhambra CA 8 City sky 61
Inglewood CA 8 City sky 63
Paramount CA 8 City sky 63
Maywood CA 8 City sky 63
Bell CA 8 City sky 64
La Puente CA 8 City sky 64
Buena Park CA 8 City sky 71
Anaheim CA 8 City sky 72
Santa Ana CA 8 City sky 75
Huntington Park CA 8 City sky 75
Duarte CA 8 City sky 77
El Monte CA 8 City sky 78
Cudahy CA 8 City sky 80
Long Beach CA 8 City sky 81
Glendale CA 8 City sky 89
Santa Monica CA 8 City sky 91
Commerce CA 8 City sky 98
Pasadena CA 9 Inner-city sky 101
Burbank CA 9 Inner-city sky 112
Los Angeles CA 9 Inner-city sky 149

Certified dark-sky destinations near Los Angeles

Certified International Dark Sky Places within reach of Los Angeles — nearest first.
PlaceDesignationDistance
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Dark Sky Park 120 mi
Borrego Springs Dark Sky Community 120 mi
Joshua Tree National Park Dark Sky Park 135 mi
Death Valley National Park Dark Sky Park 185 mi

Other light domes near Los Angeles

Riverside, CA (49 mi, core Bortle 8) , San Diego, CA (110 mi, core Bortle 8) , and Las Vegas, NV (230 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 Los Angeles?
Not from Los Angeles itself — at about Bortle 9 the dome is too bright. The darkest edge of the same metro is Agoura Hills, about 31 mi out at roughly Bortle 4, or drive to the certified Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (120 mi) for a genuinely dark sky.
How dark is the sky across the Los Angeles metro?
It varies by how close you are to the core. Los Angeles itself reads about Bortle 9; the 127 towns in this light dome range down to Agoura Hills at roughly Bortle 4, about 31 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 Los Angeles?
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (Dark Sky Park), about 120 mi away.
How to read this rating

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

More in California

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