Stargaze Atlas

Virginia dark-sky map — light pollution by town

107 towns rated · darkest: Brandermill · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

Virginia has 107 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Brandermill (Bortle 5) — to its brightest city cores. 0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Sort the table by darkness to find the best stargazing near you, then open any town for its exact rating, what you can see, the nearest darker skies to drive to, and tonight's live Moon, cloud, and aurora conditions. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy for planning, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide Virginia · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
107

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

Darkest town
Brandermill
Genuinely dark towns
0

All Virginia towns by darkness

Darkest sky first. Click a column heading to sort, or filter by name. A satellite reading, not a survey-grade measurement — and the real dark skies are usually a short drive out of any town.

Virginia towns, darkest sky first.
Sky
Brandermill 5 Suburban sky 3.0
Poquoson 5 Suburban sky 4.0
Lowes Island 5 Suburban sky 4.6
Buckhall 5 Suburban sky 5.2
Wolf Trap 5 Suburban sky 5.9
Glen Allen 5 Suburban sky 6.7
Montclair 5 Suburban sky 6.9
Mount Vernon 5 Suburban sky 7.1
Cherry Hill 5 Suburban sky 7.2
Timberlake 5 Suburban sky 7.3
Hollins 5 Suburban sky 7.9
Bon Air 6 Bright suburban sky 8.0
West Springfield 6 Bright suburban sky 8.6
Madison Heights 6 Bright suburban sky 9.7
Tuckahoe 6 Bright suburban sky 9.7
Kings Park West 6 Bright suburban sky 10
Great Falls 6 Bright suburban sky 10
Oak Hill 6 Bright suburban sky 10
Lake Ridge 6 Bright suburban sky 11
Linton Hall 6 Bright suburban sky 11
Fairfax Station 6 Bright suburban sky 12
Dranesville 6 Bright suburban sky 12
Dale City 6 Bright suburban sky 12
Lakeside 6 Bright suburban sky 13
Ashburn 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Broadlands 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Radford 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Cave Spring 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Rose Hill 6 Bright suburban sky 14
Burke 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Fort Hunt 6 Bright suburban sky 15
Sudley 6 Bright suburban sky 16
Meadowbrook 6 Bright suburban sky 16
Reston 6 Bright suburban sky 16
Woodlawn 6 Bright suburban sky 16
Mechanicsville 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Sugarland Run 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Staunton 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Idylwood 6 Bright suburban sky 17
South Suffolk 6 Bright suburban sky 17
Christiansburg 6 Bright suburban sky 18
West Falls Church 6 Bright suburban sky 18
Lorton 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Front Royal 6 Bright suburban sky 19
Manassas Park 6 Bright suburban sky 19
East Highland Park 7 Suburban / urban transition 20
Chester 7 Suburban / urban transition 21
Laurel 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
East Hampton 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Highland Springs 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Waynesboro 7 Suburban / urban transition 22
Colonial Heights 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
West Lynchburg 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
Midlothian 7 Suburban / urban transition 23
Culpeper 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Oakton 7 Suburban / urban transition 24
Vienna 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Williamsburg 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Franconia 7 Suburban / urban transition 25
Charlottesville 7 Suburban / urban transition 28
Martinsville 7 Suburban / urban transition 28
McLean 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
Portsmouth Heights 7 Suburban / urban transition 29
South Riding 7 Suburban / urban transition 30
Annandale 7 Suburban / urban transition 31
Bull Run 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Danville 7 Suburban / urban transition 32
Fredericksburg 7 Suburban / urban transition 33
Blacksburg 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Hopewell 7 Suburban / urban transition 34
Salem 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Fairfax 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Short Pump 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Winchester 7 Suburban / urban transition 36
Springfield 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
Countryside 7 Suburban / urban transition 37
Huntington 7 Suburban / urban transition 38
Groveton 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Falls Church 7 Suburban / urban transition 39
Herndon 7 Suburban / urban transition 40
Gainesville 8 City sky 42
Leesburg 8 City sky 42
Centreville 8 City sky 42
Lynchburg 8 City sky 44
Harrisonburg 8 City sky 45
Lincolnia 8 City sky 48
Alexandria 8 City sky 49
Manassas 8 City sky 49
Petersburg 8 City sky 50
Newington 8 City sky 51
Hybla Valley 8 City sky 51
Chesapeake 8 City sky 52
Baileys Crossroads 8 City sky 53
Bristol 8 City sky 55
Hampton 8 City sky 60
Suffolk 8 City sky 62
Sterling 8 City sky 64
Arlington 8 City sky 65
Newport News 8 City sky 69
Virginia Beach 8 City sky 80
Merrifield 8 City sky 81
Portsmouth 8 City sky 82
Richmond 8 City sky 84
Chantilly 8 City sky 95
Roanoke 8 City sky 96
Tysons 9 Inner-city sky 102
Norfolk 9 Inner-city sky 107

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in Virginia?
The darkest town tracked here is Brandermill. 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 Virginia have?
Of 107 towns rated here, 0 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.

Explore

Learn to read the Bortle scale, check the meteor shower calendar, or search all towns from the home page.