Can you see the Milky Way from Seattle?

Not from Seattle itself — at about Bortle 9 the dome is too bright. The darkest edge of the same metro is Lake Morton-Berrydale, about 22 mi out at roughly Bortle 5.

How dark is the sky across the Seattle metro?

It varies by how close you are to the core. Seattle itself reads about Bortle 9; the 74 towns in this light dome range down to Lake Morton-Berrydale at roughly Bortle 5, about 22 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 Seattle?

None of the 92 certified International Dark Sky Places sit within about 250 miles of Seattle — the nearest genuinely darker option is Lake Morton-Berrydale within the metro itself.

Seattle, WA — light pollution & stargazing across the metro

Washington · Very poor — city glow · 74 towns · 3,387,069 people in this light dome

The Seattle, WA light dome covers 74 towns and about 3,387,069 people rated together, reading roughly Bortle 9 — a inner-city sky (very poor — city glow) — at Seattle itself, measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights. The darkest edge of this same dome is Lake Morton-Berrydale, about 22 mi out, at roughly Bortle 5. 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 Seattle core tonight

Light-pollution reading — dome core Seattle, WA · VIIRS 2024

Estimated Bortle class (core): 9 of 9
VIIRS radiance (core): 163 nW/cm²/sr
Naked-eye limiting mag. (core): under 4.1
Darkest edge of this dome: Lake Morton-Berrydale · B5 · 22 mi

What you can see from the Seattle 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 Seattle itself on a clear, moonless night run to about magnitude 4.0 or brighter, and the Milky Way is not visible. Lake Morton-Berrydale is a regional drive away (22 mi) and improves to roughly Bortle 5.

Of the 74 towns rated in this dome, most read Bortle 6 (35 towns) — spread across 5 darkness classes overall. Beyond Seattle itself, Tacoma, Bellevue, Kent round out the largest towns sharing this same light dome.

The sky from 47.6°N

Declination above +42.4° never sets here, and below −42.4° never rises — no matter how clear the night or how long you wait.

Never sets: Polaris, the Big Dipper, Capella, Deneb
Never rises: Canopus, Alpha Centauri, the Southern Cross
Skims the southern horizon: Antares (peaks 16° up), the Milky Way core (peaks 13° up), Fomalhaut (peaks 13° up)
Milky Way core: culminates 13.4° 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 47 m at the December solstice, 8 h 13 m in June.
Midsummer: the Sun reaches only 19.0° below the horizon at solar midnight in June — past the 18° astronomical-night mark.

Geometric, from 47.606°N, 122.332°W. How these are computed.

Every town in this light dome, darkest first

All 74 towns inside Seattle's ~35-mile dome, each with its own measured reading.

Seattle metro towns, darkest sky first.
Town	State	Bortle	Sky	Radiance
Lake Morton-Berrydale	WA	5	Suburban sky	3.0
Union Hill-Novelty Hill	WA	5	Suburban sky	3.4
Sammamish	WA	5	Suburban sky	3.8
Prairie Ridge	WA	5	Suburban sky	3.9
Cottage Lake	WA	5	Suburban sky	4.9
Artondale	WA	5	Suburban sky	4.9
West Lake Sammamish	WA	5	Suburban sky	5.3
Lakeland South	WA	5	Suburban sky	7.3
Mukilteo	WA	5	Suburban sky	7.4
Snoqualmie	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	8.0
Bainbridge Island	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	8.1
North Creek	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	8.9
Inglewood-Finn Hill	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	8.9
East Renton Highlands	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	8.9
Mercer Island	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	9.3
Bothell West	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	9.3
Silverdale	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	9.8
Vashon	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	9.8
Mill Creek	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	10
Silver Firs	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	11
Lake Stevens	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	11
South Hill	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	11
Lakeland North	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	11
Eastmont	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	11
Mill Creek East	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	11
Klahanie	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	11
Lake Forest Park	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	12
East Hill-Meridian	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	12
Newcastle	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	13
West Lake Stevens	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	13
Fairwood	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	14
Lea Hill	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	14
University Place	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	14
Bonney Lake	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	15
Issaquah	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	15
Monroe	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	15
Poulsbo	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	15
Port Orchard	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	16
City of Sammamish	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	16
Columbia City	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	17
Picnic Point-North Lynnwood	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	17
Martha Lake	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	19
Bryn Mawr-Skyway	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	19
Maple Valley	WA	6	Bright suburban sky	20
Des Moines	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	22
Edmonds	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	22
Kirkland	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	22
Tukwila	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	24
Kenmore	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	25
Mountlake Terrace	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
Enumclaw	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
Bothell	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	27
Parkland	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	29
Marysville	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	32
Covington	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	32
Woodinville	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	33
Shoreline	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
Burien	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	36
White Center	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	37
Maltby	WA	7	Suburban / urban transition	37
Lakewood	WA	8	City sky	42
Puyallup	WA	8	City sky	43
Redmond	WA	8	City sky	44
Bellevue	WA	8	City sky	47
Lynnwood	WA	8	City sky	47
Kent	WA	8	City sky	54
Auburn	WA	8	City sky	61
Federal Way	WA	8	City sky	62
Renton	WA	8	City sky	66
Everett	WA	8	City sky	74
Tacoma	WA	8	City sky	78
SeaTac	WA	8	City sky	88
Bremerton	WA	8	City sky	89
Seattle	WA	9	Inner-city sky	163

Certified dark-sky destinations near Seattle

None of the 92 certified International Dark Sky Places sit within about 250 miles of Seattle. The darkest option inside this same metro is Lake Morton-Berrydale, about 22 mi out.

Other light domes near Seattle

Portland, OR (145 mi, core Bortle 9) , Sacramento, CA (625 mi, core Bortle 9) , and San Francisco, CA (680 mi, core Bortle 8) 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 Seattle?: Not from Seattle itself — at about Bortle 9 the dome is too bright. The darkest edge of the same metro is Lake Morton-Berrydale, about 22 mi out at roughly Bortle 5.
How dark is the sky across the Seattle metro?: It varies by how close you are to the core. Seattle itself reads about Bortle 9; the 74 towns in this light dome range down to Lake Morton-Berrydale at roughly Bortle 5, about 22 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 Seattle?: None of the 92 certified International Dark Sky Places sit within about 250 miles of Seattle — the nearest genuinely darker option is Lake Morton-Berrydale within the metro itself.

How to read this rating

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

More in Washington

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