Stargaze Atlas

Lima, OH — light pollution & stargazing

Ohio · Very poor — city glow · population 37,873

Lima, Ohio has a light-pollution rating of about Bortle 8 — a city sky (very poor — city glow) — measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights at 55 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 Van Wert, OH (about 27 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 Lima tonight

Light-pollution reading Lima, OH · 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)
55 nW/cm²/sr
Naked-eye limiting mag.
4.1–4.5
Milky Way
not visible

What you can see from Lima

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 Lima's sky toward truly dark skies.

Nearer, darker towns from Lima — nearest first.
Town State Bortle Sky Drive
Van Wert OH 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 mi
Defiance OH 6 Bright suburban sky 40 mi
Clayton OH 5 Suburban sky 62 mi
Caledonia WI 4 Rural / suburban transition 245 mi

Frequently asked questions

Can you see the Milky Way from Lima, OH?
Not really. At about Bortle 8 the Milky Way is not visible from Lima — the sky is too light-polluted. The nearest genuinely dark skies are around Van Wert, OH, about 27 mi away.
How dark is the sky in Lima?
Lima 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 55 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 Lima?
The nearest town with genuinely darker skies is Van Wert, OH — about 27 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 Lima 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 Ohio

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