Can you see the Milky Way from New York City?

Not from New York City itself — at about Bortle 9 the dome is too bright. The darkest edge of the same metro is Ringwood, about 30 mi out at roughly Bortle 4, or drive to the certified Cherry Springs State Park (210 mi) for a genuinely dark sky.

How dark is the sky across the New York City metro?

It varies by how close you are to the core. New York City itself reads about Bortle 9; the 230 towns in this light dome range down to Ringwood at roughly Bortle 4, about 30 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 New York City?

Cherry Springs State Park (Dark Sky Park), about 210 mi away.

New York City, NY — light pollution & stargazing across the metro

New York · Very poor — city glow · 230 towns · 23,885,041 people in this light dome

The New York City, NY light dome covers 230 towns and about 23,885,041 people rated together, reading roughly Bortle 9 — a inner-city sky (very poor — city glow) — at New York City itself, measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights. The darkest edge of this same dome is Ringwood, about 30 mi out, at roughly Bortle 4. The nearest certified dark-sky destination is Cherry Springs State Park, about 210 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 New York City core tonight

Light-pollution reading — dome core New York City, NY · VIIRS 2024

Estimated Bortle class (core): 9 of 9
VIIRS radiance (core): 144 nW/cm²/sr
Naked-eye limiting mag. (core): under 4.1
Darkest edge of this dome: Ringwood · B4 · 30 mi

What you can see from the New York City 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 New York City itself on a clear, moonless night run to about magnitude 4.0 or brighter, and the Milky Way is not visible. Ringwood is a regional drive away (30 mi) and improves to roughly Bortle 4.

Of the 230 towns rated in this dome, most read Bortle 7 (111 towns) — spread across 6 darkness classes overall. Beyond New York City itself, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan round out the largest towns sharing this same light dome.

The sky from 40.7°N

Declination above +49.3° never sets here, and below −49.3° 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: Fomalhaut (peaks 20° up)
Milky Way core: culminates 20.3° above the southern horizon — it climbs to a workable height in the south on summer nights.
Longest night: 14 h 55 m at the December solstice, 9 h 05 m in June.
Midsummer: the Sun reaches only 25.8° below the horizon at solar midnight in June — past the 18° astronomical-night mark.

Geometric, from 40.714°N, 74.006°W. How these are computed.

Every town in this light dome, darkest first

All 230 towns inside New York City's ~35-mile dome, each with its own measured reading.

New York City metro towns, darkest sky first.
Town	State	Bortle	Sky	Radiance
Ringwood	NJ	4	Rural / suburban transition	2.7
Randolph	NJ	5	Suburban sky	3.9
North Castle	NY	5	Suburban sky	3.9
Warren Township	NJ	5	Suburban sky	4.4
Greenburgh	NY	5	Suburban sky	6.7
Martinsville	NJ	5	Suburban sky	6.9
Oakland	NJ	5	Suburban sky	7.6
Basking Ridge	NJ	5	Suburban sky	7.7
Bridgewater	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	10
Robertsville	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	10
Port Washington	NY	6	Bright suburban sky	10
Wanaque	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	11
Kinnelon	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	11
West Milford	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	11
Scarsdale	NY	6	Bright suburban sky	11
Middletown	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	12
Short Hills	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	12
East Brunswick	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	12
Tinton Falls	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	12
Wykagyl	NY	6	Bright suburban sky	13
Somerset	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	13
Wyckoff	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	13
Colts Neck	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	13
Franklin Lakes	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	14
Marlboro	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	14
South Old Bridge	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	15
Sayreville	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	16
Nanuet	NY	6	Bright suburban sky	16
New Providence	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	16
River Edge	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	17
Ramsey	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	17
Wayne	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	17
Little Falls	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	17
Pearl River	NY	6	Bright suburban sky	17
Franklin Park	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	17
Springfield	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	18
Dobbs Ferry	NY	6	Bright suburban sky	18
East Hanover	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	19
Glen Rock	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	19
Upper Montclair	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	19
Lincoln Park	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	19
Dover	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	19
Florham Park	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	19
North Massapequa	NY	6	Bright suburban sky	19
Summit	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	20
Berkeley Heights	NJ	6	Bright suburban sky	20
Old Bridge	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	20
Scotch Plains	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	20
South Farmingdale	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	20
Waldwick	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	20
Salisbury	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	20
Hillsdale	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	20
Rye	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	20
Manville	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	20
Sayreville Junction	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	21
Maplewood	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	21
Harrison	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	21
Haverstraw	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	22
Middlesex	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	22
Bound Brook	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	22
West Orange	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	22
Paramus	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	22
West Haverstraw	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	22
Hanover	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	22
Pompton Lakes	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	23
Piscataway	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	23
Westwood	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	23
Tenafly	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	24
New Milford	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	24
Parsippany	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	24
Syosset	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	24
Tarrytown	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	24
Denville	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	25
Verona	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	25
Sleepy Hollow	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	25
West Babylon	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	25
South River	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	25
North Brunswick	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	25
Highland Park	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	25
New City	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	25
Teaneck	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	25
Madison	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	26
Wantagh	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	26
North Merrick	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	26
Ossining	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	26
Great Neck	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
Woodland Park	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
Staten Island	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
Totowa	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
North Bellmore	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
North Wantagh	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
Montclair	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	28
Suffern	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	28
Livingston	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	28
Mamaroneck	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	28
East Meadow	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	28
North Lindenhurst	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	29
Glen Cove	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	29
Massapequa Park	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	29
Plainview	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	29
Ridgewood	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	29
South Plainfield	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	29
Melville	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	29
Colonia	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	29
Long Beach	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	30
Seaford	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	30
Red Bank	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	30
Elmont	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	30
Lindenhurst	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	30
East Massapequa	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	30
Clifton	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	30
North Valley Stream	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	31
Huntington	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	31
South Orange	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	31
Cedar Grove	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	31
Massapequa	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	31
Millburn	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	31
Jericho	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	32
Uniondale	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	32
Metuchen	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	32
Bergenfield	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	32
Dumont	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	32
Floral Park	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	33
Greenwich	CT	7	Suburban / urban transition	33
Bloomfield	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	33
Nutley	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	34
Copiague	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	34
Hawthorne	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	34
Bethpage	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	34
Plainfield	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	35
Mahwah	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	35
Morristown	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	35
Roosevelt	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	35
Huntington Station	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	35
West Hempstead	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
Cranford	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
North New Hyde Park	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
Wyandanch	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
Levittown	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
Ridgefield Park	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
Westfield	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
Somerville	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
Long Branch	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
Lyndhurst	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
Fair Lawn	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	37
Hasbrouck Heights	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	37
Eatontown	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	37
North Amityville	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	37
Oceanside	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	38
Edison	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	38
Rutherford	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	39
Franklin Square	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	39
Manhattan	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	39
Woodmere	NY	7	Suburban / urban transition	39
Roselle	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	39
Iselin	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	39
North Plainfield	NJ	7	Suburban / urban transition	40
Merrick	NY	8	City sky	40
Avenel	NJ	8	City sky	40
Union	NJ	8	City sky	41
North Arlington	NJ	8	City sky	41
Woodbridge	NJ	8	City sky	42
Edgewater	NJ	8	City sky	42
New Cassel	NY	8	City sky	42
Garfield	NJ	8	City sky	42
Garden City	NY	8	City sky	43
Freehold	NJ	8	City sky	43
Rahway	NJ	8	City sky	44
Clark	NJ	8	City sky	44
Bellmore	NY	8	City sky	44
Baldwin	NY	8	City sky	44
Palisades Park	NJ	8	City sky	44
Lynbrook	NY	8	City sky	45
Ridgefield	NJ	8	City sky	46
Belleville	NJ	8	City sky	47
Fords	NJ	8	City sky	47
Elmwood Park	NJ	8	City sky	48
Englewood	NJ	8	City sky	48
Carteret	NJ	8	City sky	48
Wallington	NJ	8	City sky	49
Kearny	NJ	8	City sky	49
Port Chester	NY	8	City sky	49
Little Ferry	NJ	8	City sky	49
Saddle Brook	NJ	8	City sky	50
Fort Lee	NJ	8	City sky	51
Valley Stream	NY	8	City sky	51
Spring Valley	NY	8	City sky	51
Westbury	NY	8	City sky	52
Rockville Centre	NY	8	City sky	52
Hillside	NJ	8	City sky	53
Roselle Park	NJ	8	City sky	54
Mount Vernon	NY	8	City sky	54
Asbury Park	NJ	8	City sky	55
New Brunswick	NJ	8	City sky	55
Yonkers	NY	8	City sky	56
Perth Amboy	NJ	8	City sky	57
Cliffside Park	NJ	8	City sky	57
Monsey	NY	8	City sky	58
Lodi	NJ	8	City sky	58
Mineola	NY	8	City sky	60
Brooklyn	NY	8	City sky	60
Hempstead	NY	8	City sky	61
Fairview	NJ	8	City sky	62
Queens	NY	8	City sky	63
Irvington	NJ	8	City sky	64
The Bronx	NY	8	City sky	64
Passaic	NJ	8	City sky	66
East Orange	NJ	8	City sky	66
Hicksville	NY	8	City sky	67
Orange	NJ	8	City sky	70
Bayonne	NJ	8	City sky	71
New Rochelle	NY	8	City sky	73
Guttenberg	NJ	8	City sky	73
Secaucus	NJ	8	City sky	74
Linden	NJ	8	City sky	74
Jersey City	NJ	8	City sky	77
North Bergen	NJ	8	City sky	78
Freeport	NY	8	City sky	79
White Plains	NY	8	City sky	93
Hoboken	NJ	8	City sky	96
Hackensack	NJ	9	Inner-city sky	104
West New York	NJ	9	Inner-city sky	104
Stamford	CT	9	Inner-city sky	108
Elizabeth	NJ	9	Inner-city sky	109
Paterson	NJ	9	Inner-city sky	118
Weehawken	NJ	9	Inner-city sky	129
New York City	NY	9	Inner-city sky	144
Harrison	NJ	9	Inner-city sky	155
Union City	NJ	9	Inner-city sky	169
Newark	NJ	9	Inner-city sky	243

Certified dark-sky destinations near New York City

Certified International Dark Sky Places within reach of New York City — nearest first.
Place	Designation	Distance
Cherry Springs State Park	Dark Sky Park	210 mi

Other light domes near New York City

Bridgeport, CT (53 mi, core Bortle 8) , Philadelphia, PA (81 mi, core Bortle 9) , and Springfield, MA (120 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 New York City?: Not from New York City itself — at about Bortle 9 the dome is too bright. The darkest edge of the same metro is Ringwood, about 30 mi out at roughly Bortle 4, or drive to the certified Cherry Springs State Park (210 mi) for a genuinely dark sky.
How dark is the sky across the New York City metro?: It varies by how close you are to the core. New York City itself reads about Bortle 9; the 230 towns in this light dome range down to Ringwood at roughly Bortle 4, about 30 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 New York City?: Cherry Springs State Park (Dark Sky Park), about 210 mi away.

How to read this rating

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

More in New York

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