Stargaze Atlas

Mandan, ND — light pollution & stargazing

North Dakota · Very poor — city glow · population 21,382

Mandan, North Dakota has a light-pollution rating of about Bortle 8 — a city sky (very poor — city glow) — measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights at 41 nW/cm²/sr at the town center. The sky is bright enough to read by. Only the Moon, the planets, and the few brightest stars and clusters are visible — the constellations lose most of their fainter stars. The nearest genuinely darker skies are around Dickinson, ND (about 90 mi away, Bortle 7). 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 Mandan tonight

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

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

VIIRS radiance (town center)
41 nW/cm²/sr
Naked-eye limiting mag.
4.1–4.5
Milky Way
not visible

What you can see from Mandan

The sky is bright enough to read by. Only the Moon, the planets, and the few brightest stars and clusters are visible — the constellations lose most of their fainter stars.

Darker skies within reach

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

Nearer, darker towns from Mandan — nearest first.
Town State Bortle Sky Drive
Dickinson ND 7 Suburban / urban transition 90 mi
Sartell MN 6 Bright suburban sky 330 mi
Otsego MN 5 Suburban sky 365 mi
Ham Lake MN 4 Rural / suburban transition 380 mi

Frequently asked questions

Can you see the Milky Way from Mandan, ND?
Not really. At about Bortle 8 the Milky Way is not visible from Mandan — the sky is too light-polluted. The nearest genuinely dark skies are around Dickinson, ND, about 90 mi away.
How dark is the sky in Mandan?
Mandan rates a city sky — about Bortle 8, with a naked-eye limiting magnitude around 4.1–4.5. That comes from a VIIRS satellite night-lights reading of 41 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 Mandan?
The nearest town with genuinely darker skies is Dickinson, ND — about 90 mi away at roughly Bortle 7. See the "darker skies within reach" list on this page for more options.
Can I see the aurora from Mandan 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.