Stargaze Atlas

Pennsylvania dark-sky map — light pollution by town

104 towns rated · darkest: Landenberg · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

Pennsylvania has 104 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Landenberg (Bortle 4) — to its brightest city cores, with 2 rating as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Every town is listed with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. It also holds 1 certified International Dark Sky Place, listed below with the nearest rated town to each. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide Pennsylvania · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
104

1 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).

Darkest town
Landenberg
Genuinely dark towns
1
Certified dark-sky places
1

Certified dark-sky places in Pennsylvania

One site in Pennsylvania holds an International Dark Sky Place certification — awarded for actively protecting the night sky, not measured from orbit like the town ratings below. What each designation means →

Certified International Dark Sky Places in Pennsylvania.
Place Designation Coordinates Nearest rated town Distance That town's sky
Cherry Springs State Park Dark Sky Park 41.663°N, 77.823°W Saint Marys 41 mi B7

All Pennsylvania towns by darkness

Darkest sky first, each with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. Sort or filter below.

Pennsylvania towns, darkest sky first.
Sky Nearest darker sky
Landenberg 4 Rural / suburban transition 1.8 already the darkest nearby
Back Mountain 5 Suburban sky 3.4 Wawarsing, NY — B4, 90 mi
Franklin Park 5 Suburban sky 4.3 Green Valley, MD — B4, 170 mi
Plum 5 Suburban sky 5.7 Green Valley, MD — B4, 155 mi
Jefferson Hills 5 Suburban sky 6.1 Green Valley, MD — B4, 155 mi
Mountain Top 5 Suburban sky 6.1 Ringwood, NJ — B4, 85 mi
Upper Saint Clair 5 Suburban sky 6.1 Green Valley, MD — B4, 165 mi
Monroeville 5 Suburban sky 7.0 Green Valley, MD — B4, 155 mi
Allison Park 6 Bright suburban sky 8.7 Franklin Park — B5, 7 mi
East Norriton 6 Bright suburban sky 10 Vincentown, NJ — B5, 35 mi
South Park Township 6 Bright suburban sky 11 Jefferson Hills — B5, 3 mi
Berwick 6 Bright suburban sky 11 Mountain Top — B5, 20 mi
Whitehall Township 6 Bright suburban sky 11 Mountain Top — B5, 40 mi
Fernway 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Franklin Park — B5, 8 mi
Shiloh 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Ilchester, MD — B5, 50 mi
West Norriton 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Landenberg — B4, 32 mi
Whitehall 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Upper Saint Clair — B5, 5 mi
Wyomissing 6 Bright suburban sky 13 Landenberg — B4, 40 mi
Columbia 6 Bright suburban sky 13 Landenberg — B4, 43 mi
Weigelstown 6 Bright suburban sky 13 Ilchester, MD — B5, 51 mi
Baldwin 6 Bright suburban sky 13 Jefferson Hills — B5, 4 mi
Levittown 6 Bright suburban sky 14 Vincentown, NJ — B5, 16 mi
Limerick 6 Bright suburban sky 14 Landenberg — B4, 34 mi
Nanticoke 6 Bright suburban sky 15 Mountain Top — B5, 7 mi
North Versailles 6 Bright suburban sky 15 Monroeville — B5, 3 mi
Emmaus 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Bradley Gardens, NJ — B5, 44 mi
Springfield 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Landenberg — B4, 26 mi
Oil City 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Franklin Park — B5, 62 mi
Broomall 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Landenberg — B4, 26 mi
Munhall 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Monroeville — B5, 6 mi
Lower Burrell 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Plum — B5, 4 mi
Murrysville 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Monroeville — B5, 5 mi
Dunmore 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Back Mountain — B5, 20 mi
Colonial Park 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Landenberg — B4, 66 mi
Bethel Park 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Upper Saint Clair — B5, 2 mi
Saint Marys 7 Suburban / urban transition 20 Oil City — B6, 59 mi
Elizabethtown 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Columbia — B6, 10 mi
Havertown 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Broomall — B6, 3 mi
Bloomsburg 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Berwick — B6, 12 mi
Ephrata 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Wyomissing — B6, 15 mi
Wayne 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Broomall — B6, 5 mi
Fullerton 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Whitehall Township — B6, 3 mi
Pottstown 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Limerick — B6, 7 mi
Sharon 7 Suburban / urban transition 25 Struthers, OH — B6, 14 mi
Coatesville 7 Suburban / urban transition 25 Landenberg — B4, 15 mi
Phoenixville 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Limerick — B6, 7 mi
Lansdowne 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Springfield — B6, 3 mi
Drexel Hill 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Springfield — B6, 2 mi
Abington 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 East Norriton — B6, 12 mi
East Stroudsburg 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Hopatcong Hills, NJ — B5, 27 mi
West Mifflin 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Munhall — B6, 3 mi
Hanover 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 Weigelstown — B6, 15 mi
Horsham 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 East Norriton — B6, 11 mi
Carlisle 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Colonial Park — B6, 21 mi
West Chester 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Hockessin, DE — B6, 13 mi
Natrona Heights 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Lower Burrell — B6, 5 mi
Lebanon 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Colonial Park — B6, 21 mi
Johnstown 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Murrysville — B6, 41 mi
Montgomeryville 7 Suburban / urban transition 31 East Norriton — B6, 8 mi
Pottsville 7 Suburban / urban transition 31 Berwick — B6, 26 mi
Easton 7 Suburban / urban transition 31 Whitehall Township — B6, 15 mi
Waynesboro 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Halfway, MD — B6, 13 mi
Bensalem 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Willingboro, NJ — B6, 7 mi
New Kensington 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Lower Burrell — B6, 1 mi
Bethlehem 7 Suburban / urban transition 34 Whitehall Township — B6, 7 mi
Wilkinsburg 7 Suburban / urban transition 34 Munhall — B6, 4 mi
Darby 7 Suburban / urban transition 35 Springfield — B6, 3 mi
Hazleton 7 Suburban / urban transition 35 Berwick — B6, 15 mi
Lansdale 7 Suburban / urban transition 36 East Norriton — B6, 7 mi
Radnor 7 Suburban / urban transition 36 Broomall — B6, 5 mi
Mount Lebanon 7 Suburban / urban transition 37 Bethel Park — B6, 2 mi
Yeadon 7 Suburban / urban transition 37 Springfield — B6, 4 mi
McKeesport 7 Suburban / urban transition 37 Munhall — B6, 4 mi
Willow Grove 7 Suburban / urban transition 38 East Norriton — B6, 12 mi
Greensburg 7 Suburban / urban transition 40 Murrysville — B6, 12 mi
Ardmore 8 City sky 40 Havertown — B7, 2 mi
Hershey 8 City sky 40 Colonial Park — B6, 9 mi
Butler 8 City sky 41 Fernway — B6, 17 mi
Meadville 8 City sky 41 Oil City — B6, 27 mi
Kingston 8 City sky 42 Mountain Top — B5, 7 mi
Williamsport 8 City sky 43 Bloomsburg — B7, 33 mi
Chambersburg 8 City sky 43 Waynesboro — B7, 13 mi
Indiana 8 City sky 45 Johnstown — B7, 24 mi
State College 8 City sky 47 Carlisle — B7, 54 mi
Allentown 8 City sky 48 Fullerton — B7, 2 mi
Carnot-Moon 8 City sky 49 Franklin Park — B5, 8 mi
Cranberry Township 8 City sky 49 Fernway — B6, 1 mi
Scranton 8 City sky 51 Dunmore — B6, 2 mi
New Castle 8 City sky 51 Struthers, OH — B6, 14 mi
Hermitage 8 City sky 51 Sharon — B7, 2 mi
Altoona 8 City sky 51 Johnstown — B7, 31 mi
Norristown 8 City sky 52 East Norriton — B6, 2 mi
Lancaster 8 City sky 53 Columbia — B6, 11 mi
Wilkes-Barre 8 City sky 55 Mountain Top — B5, 5 mi
Chester 8 City sky 57 Springfield — B6, 6 mi
York 8 City sky 64 Shiloh — B6, 4 mi
Harrisburg 8 City sky 65 Colonial Park — B6, 4 mi
Washington 8 City sky 66 Upper Saint Clair — B5, 14 mi
Reading 8 City sky 66 Wyomissing — B6, 2 mi
King of Prussia 8 City sky 75 West Norriton — B6, 3 mi
Erie 9 Inner-city sky 120 Conneaut, OH — B6, 27 mi
Pittsburgh 9 Inner-city sky 157 Whitehall — B6, 6 mi
Philadelphia 9 Inner-city sky 223 Camden, NJ — B8, 3 mi
Shiloh 1-2 Truly dark sky 0.1 already the darkest nearby

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in Pennsylvania?
The darkest town tracked here is Landenberg, but the genuinely dark skies in Pennsylvania are its 1 certified International Dark Sky Place — Cherry Springs State Park — listed further down with the nearest rated town to each.
How many dark-sky towns does Pennsylvania have?
Of 104 towns rated here, 2 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better) — good for seeing the Milky Way on a clear, moonless night.
How are these light-pollution ratings measured?
From VIIRS 2024 annual-average satellite night-lights, sampled at each town's center and mapped to a darkness class and an estimated Bortle band. It is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading. See the methodology page for details.

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