Stargaze Atlas

Rhode Island dark-sky map — light pollution by town

29 towns rated · darkest: South Kingstown · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

Rhode Island has 29 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — South Kingstown (Bortle 4) — to its brightest city cores, with 5 rating as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Every town is listed with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. No site in the state holds an International Dark Sky Place certification, so its darkest skies are the rural towns at the top of the table. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide Rhode Island · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
29

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

Darkest town
South Kingstown
Genuinely dark towns
5
Certified dark-sky places
0

Nearest certified dark-sky places to Rhode Island

No site in Rhode Island holds an International Dark Sky Place certification. Measured from South Kingstown, the state's darkest rated town, these are the nearest certified destinations — all 92 are on the map.

Nearest certified International Dark Sky Places to South Kingstown, Rhode Island.
Place Designation State From South Kingstown
Cherry Springs State Park Dark Sky Park Pennsylvania 325 mi
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument Dark Sky Sanctuary Maine 345 mi
James River State Park Dark Sky Park Virginia 470 mi

All Rhode Island towns by darkness

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

Rhode Island towns, darkest sky first.
Sky Nearest darker sky
South Kingstown 4 Rural / suburban transition 1.0 already the darkest nearby
Coventry 4 Rural / suburban transition 1.9 already the darkest nearby
North Smithfield 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.3 already the darkest nearby
Narragansett 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.6 already the darkest nearby
North Kingstown 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.6 already the darkest nearby
Cumberland 5 Suburban sky 3.3 North Smithfield — B4, 6 mi
Lincoln 5 Suburban sky 3.7 North Smithfield — B4, 7 mi
North Scituate 5 Suburban sky 4.7 North Smithfield — B4, 10 mi
Smithfield 5 Suburban sky 5.2 North Smithfield — B4, 3 mi
Warwick 5 Suburban sky 6.1 North Kingstown — B4, 11 mi
Portsmouth 6 Bright suburban sky 8.1 Head of Westport, MA — B5, 10 mi
Barrington 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Swansea, MA — B5, 6 mi
Middletown 6 Bright suburban sky 12 North Kingstown — B4, 9 mi
Warren 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Swansea, MA — B5, 5 mi
West Warwick 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Warwick — B5, 6 mi
Bristol 6 Bright suburban sky 13 Swansea, MA — B5, 6 mi
Valley Falls 6 Bright suburban sky 13 Lincoln — B5, 3 mi
East Greenwich 6 Bright suburban sky 15 Warwick — B5, 3 mi
East Providence 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Rehoboth, MA — B4, 7 mi
Newport East 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Narragansett — B4, 10 mi
Westerly 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Ledyard, CT — B5, 11 mi
Cranston 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 East Providence — B6, 4 mi
North Providence 7 Suburban / urban transition 23 Lincoln — B5, 5 mi
Johnston 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 North Scituate — B5, 4 mi
Woonsocket 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 North Smithfield — B4, 3 mi
Central Falls 7 Suburban / urban transition 36 Valley Falls — B6, 1 mi
Newport 8 City sky 41 Newport East — B6, 2 mi
Pawtucket 8 City sky 53 Central Falls — B7, 1 mi
Providence 9 Inner-city sky 145 East Providence — B6, 2 mi

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in Rhode Island?
The darkest town tracked here is South Kingstown. Sort the table on this page by darkness to see the full ranking, from the most rural, star-filled skies down to the brightest city cores.
How many dark-sky towns does Rhode Island have?
Of 29 towns rated here, 5 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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Bortle scale · Meteor showers · Dark-sky map · Search all towns