11.8 usable nights
9–13 in the middle half of years · 4.3 typically near a dark moon.
341 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20-year trip-planning baseline
Best time to stargaze at Hobbs
October: 17.8 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.19.6–20.2 mag/arcsec²
The short answer
October has been strongest.
It averages 17.8 usable nights, versus 9.7 in February. A typical October lands between 16 and 21 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
9.7 usable nights
7–12 in the middle half of years · 3.3 typically near a dark moon.
285 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
11.4 usable nights
7–15 in the middle half of years · 3.1 typically near a dark moon.
290 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
14.3 usable nights
11–17 in the middle half of years · 4.5 typically near a dark moon.
240 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.8 usable nights
9–16 in the middle half of years · 3.9 typically near a dark moon.
215 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
13.4 usable nights
11–15 in the middle half of years · 4.2 typically near a dark moon.
180 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.3 usable nights
10–16 in the middle half of years · 4.2 typically near a dark moon.
197 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
13.2 usable nights
10–15 in the middle half of years · 4.3 typically near a dark moon.
246 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
14.2 usable nights
12–16 in the middle half of years · 5.5 typically near a dark moon.
259 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
17.8 usable nights
16–21 in the middle half of years · 6.5 typically near a dark moon.
310 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
15.1 usable nights
12–19 in the middle half of years · 4.5 typically near a dark moon.
325 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
10.6 usable nights
10–13 in the middle half of years · 3.5 typically near a dark moon.
348 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.