Stargaze Atlas

Tampa, FL — light pollution & stargazing across the metro

Florida · Very poor — city glow · 60 towns · 2,454,766 people in this light dome

The Tampa, FL light dome covers 60 towns and about 2,454,766 people rated together, reading roughly Bortle 9 — a inner-city sky (very poor — city glow) — at Tampa itself, measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights. The darkest edge of this same dome is Keystone, about 17 mi out, at roughly Bortle 4. The nearest certified dark-sky destination is Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, about 87 mi away. Tonight's Moon phase, cloud cover, and aurora odds load live below, computed in your browser.

Stargazing at the Tampa core tonight

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

Inner-city sky.

VIIRS radiance (core)
169 nW/cm²/sr
Naked-eye limiting mag. (core)
under 4.1
Darkest edge of this dome
Keystone · B4 · 17 mi

What you can see from the Tampa 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 Tampa itself on a clear, moonless night run to about magnitude 4.0 or brighter, and the Milky Way is not visible. Keystone is a regional drive away (17 mi) and improves to roughly Bortle 4.

Of the 60 towns rated in this dome, most read Bortle 6 (26 towns) — spread across 6 darkness classes overall. Beyond Tampa itself, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Lakeland round out the largest towns sharing this same light dome.

The sky from 27.9°N

Declination above +62.1° never sets here, and below −62.1° never rises — no matter how clear the night or how long you wait.

Geometric, from 27.948°N, 82.458°W. How these are computed.

Every town in this light dome, darkest first

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

Tampa metro towns, darkest sky first.
Town State Bortle Sky Radiance
Keystone FL 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.0
Shady Hills FL 5 Suburban sky 4.2
Greater Northdale FL 6 Bright suburban sky 9.2
Cheval FL 6 Bright suburban sky 9.7
Thonotosassa FL 6 Bright suburban sky 11
Oldsmar FL 6 Bright suburban sky 11
Westchase FL 6 Bright suburban sky 12
New Port Richey East FL 6 Bright suburban sky 12
Trinity FL 6 Bright suburban sky 13
Carrollwood FL 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Lakeland Highlands FL 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Apollo Beach FL 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Gibsonton FL 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Fish Hawk FL 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Lutz FL 6 Bright suburban sky 17
East Lake FL 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Palm Harbor FL 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Carrollwood Village FL 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Wesley Chapel FL 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Lake Magdalene FL 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Valrico FL 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Palm River-Clair Mel FL 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Mango FL 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Zephyrhills FL 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Land O' Lakes FL 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Safety Harbor FL 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Town 'n' Country FL 6 Bright suburban sky 20
Ruskin FL 6 Bright suburban sky 20
Jasmine Estates FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 21
Bayonet Point FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Gulfport FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
Sun City Center FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Citrus Park FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Elfers FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 27
Largo FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 28
New Port Richey FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Plant City FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Dunedin FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
Tarpon Springs FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
Temple Terrace FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
West and East Lealman FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Bloomingdale FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
Riverview FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 35
Holiday FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Hudson FL 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Egypt Lake-Leto FL 8 City sky 44
Northdale FL 8 City sky 46
St. Petersburg FL 8 City sky 48
South Bradenton FL 8 City sky 48
Palmetto FL 8 City sky 49
East Lake-Orient Park FL 8 City sky 49
Seminole FL 8 City sky 49
Bradenton FL 8 City sky 52
Pinellas Park FL 8 City sky 54
Lealman FL 8 City sky 56
Brandon FL 8 City sky 61
University FL 8 City sky 64
Lakeland FL 8 City sky 82
Clearwater FL 8 City sky 95
Tampa FL 9 Inner-city sky 169

Certified dark-sky destinations near Tampa

Certified International Dark Sky Places within reach of Tampa — nearest first.
PlaceDesignationDistance
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park Dark Sky Park 87 mi
Big Cypress National Preserve Dark Sky Park 160 mi
Stephen C. Foster State Park Dark Sky Park 200 mi

Other light domes near Tampa

Orlando, FL (77 mi, core Bortle 9) , West Palm Beach, FL (170 mi, core Bortle 9) , and Miami, FL (205 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 Tampa?
Not from Tampa itself — at about Bortle 9 the dome is too bright. The darkest edge of the same metro is Keystone, about 17 mi out at roughly Bortle 4, or drive to the certified Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park (87 mi) for a genuinely dark sky.
How dark is the sky across the Tampa metro?
It varies by how close you are to the core. Tampa itself reads about Bortle 9; the 60 towns in this light dome range down to Keystone at roughly Bortle 4, about 17 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 Tampa?
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park (Dark Sky Park), about 87 mi away.
How to read this rating

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

More in Florida

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