8.7 usable nights
5–12 in the middle half of years · 2.9 typically near a dark moon.
321 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20-year trip-planning baseline
Best time to stargaze at Laredo
October: 17.0 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.18.5–19.3 mag/arcsec²
The short answer
October has been strongest.
It averages 17.0 usable nights, versus 7.7 in February. A typical October lands between 13 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
7.7 usable nights
6–11 in the middle half of years · 2.3 typically near a dark moon.
283 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
9.3 usable nights
7–12 in the middle half of years · 3.5 typically near a dark moon.
299 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
8.3 usable nights
6–10 in the middle half of years · 3.5 typically near a dark moon.
243 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
8.3 usable nights
5–11 in the middle half of years · 2.6 typically near a dark moon.
248 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
13.3 usable nights
12–16 in the middle half of years · 3.8 typically near a dark moon.
225 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
11.6 usable nights
8–16 in the middle half of years · 5.1 typically near a dark moon.
238 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.6 usable nights
10–15 in the middle half of years · 4.4 typically near a dark moon.
248 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
14.0 usable nights
10–19 in the middle half of years · 4.8 typically near a dark moon.
272 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
17.0 usable nights
13–21 in the middle half of years · 5.8 typically near a dark moon.
310 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.8 usable nights
7–17 in the middle half of years · 4.6 typically near a dark moon.
317 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
8.3 usable nights
6–10 in the middle half of years · 2.8 typically near a dark moon.
320 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.