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Bortle Dark-Sky Scale

scale of night sky brightness
Thing measure Q2722595
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Summary

Bortle Dark-Sky Scale is a measure[1]. It ranks in the top 6% of measure entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (8,640 views/month).[2]

Key Facts

  • Discoverer or inventor: John E. Bortle[3]
  • Instance of: measurement scale[4]
  • Measured physical quantity: sky brightness[5]
  • Named after: John E. Bortle[6]
  • Time of discovery or invention: 2001[7]
  • Official website: https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-resources/light-pollution-and-astronomy-the-bortle-dark-sky-scale/[8]
  • Facet of: sky brightness[9], light pollution[10]

Why It Matters

Bortle Dark-Sky Scale has Wikipedia articles in 19 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[11] It is known by 24 alternative names across languages and contexts.[12]

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [4] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  2. [3] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  3. [5] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  4. [6] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [8] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  7. [9] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.
  8. [10] ↑ . Retrieved . wikidata.org.

Class ancestry

  1. [1] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [2] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [11] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [12] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Bortle Dark-Sky Scale. Retrieved October 17, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/bortle-dark-sky-scale
MLA “Bortle Dark-Sky Scale.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 17 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/bortle-dark-sky-scale.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_bortle-dark-sky-scale_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Bortle Dark-Sky Scale}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/bortle-dark-sky-scale}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-17}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Bortle Dark-Sky Scale — https://4ort.xyz/entity/bortle-dark-sky-scale (retrieved 2026-10-17)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/bortle-dark-sky-scale · Last refreshed:

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 2d ago · Epsiloniclad · 2026-10-17 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Discoverer or inventor → John E. Bortle, John E. Bortle
    Claims rich → —
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Discoverer or inventor: John E. Bortle"
  2. 5w ago · C960657 · 2026-09-08 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Measured physical quantity → sky brightness
    Lex id → Bortle-skalaen
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Lex id: Bortle-skalaen"
  3. 10w ago · Ottawajin · 2026-08-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Official website → https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-resources/light-pollut
    Image → How light pollution affects the dark night skies (dark-skies
    Freebase id → /m/02q1vs6
    Named after → John E. Bortle
    + 15 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Instance of: measurement scale"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.