Stargaze Atlas

Bismarck, ND — light pollution & stargazing

North Dakota · Very poor — city glow · population 75,092

Bismarck, North Dakota has a light-pollution rating of about Bortle 9 — a inner-city sky (very poor — city glow) — measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights at 105 nW/cm²/sr at the town center. 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. The nearest genuinely darker skies are around Mandan, ND (about 5 mi away, Bortle 8). Tonight's Moon phase, cloud cover, and aurora odds load live below, computed in your browser. This is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness measurement.

Stargazing in Bismarck tonight

Light-pollution reading Bismarck, ND · VIIRS 2024
Estimated Bortle class
9 of 9

Inner-city sky. A satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning — not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading.

VIIRS radiance (town center)
105 nW/cm²/sr
Naked-eye limiting mag.
under 4.1
Milky Way
not visible

What you can see from Bismarck

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.

Darker skies within reach

The nearest town in each darker class — your ladder from Bismarck's sky toward truly dark skies.

Nearer, darker towns from Bismarck — nearest first.
Town State Bortle Sky Drive
Mandan ND 8 City sky 5 mi
Dickinson ND 7 Suburban / urban transition 95 mi
Sartell MN 6 Bright suburban sky 325 mi
Otsego MN 5 Suburban sky 360 mi
Ham Lake MN 4 Rural / suburban transition 375 mi

Frequently asked questions

Can you see the Milky Way from Bismarck, ND?
Not really. At about Bortle 9 the Milky Way is not visible from Bismarck — the sky is too light-polluted. The nearest genuinely dark skies are around Mandan, ND, about 5 mi away.
How dark is the sky in Bismarck?
Bismarck rates a inner-city sky — about Bortle 9, with a naked-eye limiting magnitude around under 4.1. That comes from a VIIRS satellite night-lights reading of 105 nW/cm²/sr at the town center. It is a satellite proxy for planning, not a survey-grade measurement.
Where is the nearest dark sky to Bismarck?
The nearest town with genuinely darker skies is Mandan, ND — about 5 mi away at roughly Bortle 8. See the "darker skies within reach" list on this page for more options.
Can I see the aurora from Bismarck tonight?
It depends on tonight's space weather. The live panel on this page reads the current NOAA aurora forecast for your latitude, along with cloud cover and the Moon — most U.S. locations only see aurora during strong geomagnetic storms.
How to read this rating

The darkness rating is measured from VIIRS satellite night-lights at the town center and is a proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness measurement — and the darkest skies are usually a short drive out of any town. Tonight's Moon, cloud, and aurora figures are live third-party forecasts that can change. See the methodology for sources and limits.

More in North Dakota

See every town's darkness rating in North Dakota, learn to read the Bortle scale, or check tonight's Moon phase.