Stargaze Atlas

Appleton, WI — light pollution & stargazing

Wisconsin · Very poor — city glow · population 74,139

Appleton, Wisconsin 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 Menasha, WI (about 4 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 Appleton tonight

Light-pollution reading Appleton, WI · 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 Appleton

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 Appleton's sky toward truly dark skies.

Nearer, darker towns from Appleton — nearest first.
Town State Bortle Sky Drive
Menasha WI 7 Suburban / urban transition 4 mi
Allouez WI 6 Bright suburban sky 25 mi
Suamico WI 5 Suburban sky 32 mi
Caledonia WI 4 Rural / suburban transition 105 mi

Frequently asked questions

Can you see the Milky Way from Appleton, WI?
Not really. At about Bortle 8 the Milky Way is not visible from Appleton — the sky is too light-polluted. The nearest genuinely dark skies are around Menasha, WI, about 4 mi away.
How dark is the sky in Appleton?
Appleton 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 Appleton?
The nearest town with genuinely darker skies is Menasha, WI — about 4 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 Appleton 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 Wisconsin

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