13.1 usable nights
9–17 in the middle half of years · 4.5 typically near a dark moon.
341 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20-year trip-planning baseline
When to plan an observing trip to Cosmic Campground
October: 20.9 usable nights on average. A regional planning baseline, not a forecast for your trip.
Site darkness · modelled, not measured
Natural-dark skyBortle classes describe observed sky conditions; this brightness model does not establish a measured Bortle class.21.9–21.9 mag/arcsec²
The short answer
October has been strongest.
It averages 20.9 usable nights, versus 5.0 in July. A typical October lands between 18 and 25 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
12.8 usable nights
9–15 in the middle half of years · 3.9 typically near a dark moon.
286 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
15.1 usable nights
12–17 in the middle half of years · 4.5 typically near a dark moon.
289 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
17.5 usable nights
16–19 in the middle half of years · 6.0 typically near a dark moon.
240 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20.0 usable nights
15–23 in the middle half of years · 6.4 typically near a dark moon.
210 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
16.7 usable nights
14–21 in the middle half of years · 5.7 typically near a dark moon.
180 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
5.0 usable nights
2–8 in the middle half of years · 1.7 typically near a dark moon.
194 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
7.3 usable nights
5–9 in the middle half of years · 2.7 typically near a dark moon.
243 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
16.1 usable nights
13–17 in the middle half of years · 5.5 typically near a dark moon.
258 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20.9 usable nights
18–25 in the middle half of years · 7.2 typically near a dark moon.
310 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
17.1 usable nights
14–20 in the middle half of years · 5.5 typically near a dark moon.
326 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.9 usable nights
10–15 in the middle half of years · 4.3 typically near a dark moon.
352 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.