9.0 usable nights
7–10 in the middle half of years · 3.0 typically near a dark moon.
341 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20-year trip-planning baseline
Best time to stargaze at Benton
October: 15.2 usable nights on average. Use this seasonal climate baseline to choose a month, then use the live forecast to choose a night.
Site darkness · modelled, not measured
Bright skyBortle classes describe observed sky conditions; this brightness model does not establish a measured Bortle class.19.7–20.3 mag/arcsec²
The short answer
October has been strongest.
It averages 15.2 usable nights, versus 6.2 in February. A typical October lands between 11 and 18 usable nights.
Record2005–2024 · 20 complete years
Usable nightAt least 3 astronomical-dark hours and NASA POWER nighttime cloud ≤30%
Dark-moon nightUsable night with ≤25% illumination at local solar midnight
ResolutionCERES SYN1deg 1° cloud grid; regional climate, not a campsite guarantee
Seasonal fingerprint
Usable nights by month
Month by month
6.2 usable nights
5–8 in the middle half of years · 1.9 typically near a dark moon.
287 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
7.3 usable nights
6–9 in the middle half of years · 2.1 typically near a dark moon.
287 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
7.7 usable nights
6–9 in the middle half of years · 2.6 typically near a dark moon.
240 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
7.8 usable nights
5–10 in the middle half of years · 3.0 typically near a dark moon.
203 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
11.1 usable nights
9–15 in the middle half of years · 3.5 typically near a dark moon.
180 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
9.8 usable nights
8–13 in the middle half of years · 3.9 typically near a dark moon.
189 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
11.8 usable nights
9–15 in the middle half of years · 4.3 typically near a dark moon.
240 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
14.3 usable nights
12–16 in the middle half of years · 5.0 typically near a dark moon.
256 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
15.2 usable nights
11–18 in the middle half of years · 5.6 typically near a dark moon.
310 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
10.9 usable nights
9–12 in the middle half of years · 3.5 typically near a dark moon.
327 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
8.2 usable nights
6–9 in the middle half of years · 2.9 typically near a dark moon.
357 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
Use the baseline honestly
Climate chooses the month. Forecasts choose the night.
The cloud product is a roughly 1° regional grid. It can reveal seasonality, but it cannot know a mountain ridge, valley fog pocket, locked gate, smoke event or the exact sky you will get.
Source: NASA POWER daily data, parameter CLOUD_AMT_NIGHT from the CERES SYN1deg cloud product. GoodSeeing calculates astronomical darkness and lunar illumination independently for each place.