10.1 usable nights
7–13 in the middle half of years · 2.9 typically near a dark moon.
346 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20-year trip-planning baseline
When to plan an observing trip to Cedar City
June: 19.6 usable nights on average. A regional planning baseline, not a forecast for your trip.
Site darkness · modelled, not measured
Brightened skyBortle classes describe observed sky conditions; this brightness model does not establish a measured Bortle class.20.4–21.0 mag/arcsec²
The short answer
June has been strongest.
It averages 19.6 usable nights, versus 8.7 in February. A typical June lands between 16 and 22 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
8.7 usable nights
6–12 in the middle half of years · 2.6 typically near a dark moon.
289 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
8.9 usable nights
6–11 in the middle half of years · 2.3 typically near a dark moon.
281 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
11.6 usable nights
9–13 in the middle half of years · 3.4 typically near a dark moon.
238 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
14.2 usable nights
12–18 in the middle half of years · 4.7 typically near a dark moon.
187 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
19.6 usable nights
16–22 in the middle half of years · 6.5 typically near a dark moon.
180 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.8 usable nights
9–16 in the middle half of years · 4.7 typically near a dark moon.
186 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
15.7 usable nights
13–19 in the middle half of years · 4.7 typically near a dark moon.
226 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
18.9 usable nights
16–21 in the middle half of years · 6.4 typically near a dark moon.
251 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
18.9 usable nights
16–21 in the middle half of years · 6.9 typically near a dark moon.
308 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
13.8 usable nights
12–15 in the middle half of years · 4.8 typically near a dark moon.
329 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
9.1 usable nights
7–11 in the middle half of years · 3.0 typically near a dark moon.
364 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.