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The organization that grants these titles, DarkSky International, bases them more on local policy towards light pollution rather than the absolute magnitude of darkness. It's more about whether the local municipality has committed to good lighting ordinances etc.

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Indeed. For example, Cranborne Chase Dark Sky Reserve isn't that dark at all. At darkest, it's at about Bortle 4, which means that the Milky Way is visible, but not that impressive, and if you have reasonably youthful eyes you could probably walk around without carrying a light source on an overcast day.

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