Light Pollution & Stargazing Calculator

Estimating your sky darkness usually means cross-referencing a map and squinting at it. Instead, count how many stars you can see in the Little Dipper and get an instant Bortle class. Works for Northern Hemisphere observers. Nothing uploaded.

Bortle scale ? Limiting magnitude ? Little Dipper method Northern Hemisphere

Result

Bortle 4-5

Limiting magnitude ?

~5.0

Bortle class

4-5

Sky description

Suburban sky

Notes

This method requires the Little Dipper to be above the horizon and the sky to be clear of clouds and haze. It is an approximation, not a precise sky-quality meter reading.