5.0 usable nights
3–6 in the middle half of years · 1.4 typically near a dark moon.
351 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20-year trip-planning baseline
Best time to stargaze at North Platte
September: 11.6 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
Brightened skyBortle classes describe observed sky conditions; this brightness model does not establish a measured Bortle class.20.6–21.1 mag/arcsec²
The short answer
September has been strongest.
It averages 11.6 usable nights, versus 4.3 in December. A typical September lands between 9 and 14 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
5.0 usable nights
4–6 in the middle half of years · 2.0 typically near a dark moon.
291 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.2 usable nights
5–7 in the middle half of years · 1.5 typically near a dark moon.
275 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
7.2 usable nights
4–10 in the middle half of years · 2.0 typically near a dark moon.
223 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
5.3 usable nights
4–6 in the middle half of years · 1.5 typically near a dark moon.
184 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.8 usable nights
6–8 in the middle half of years · 2.4 typically near a dark moon.
120 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
7.2 usable nights
5–9 in the middle half of years · 2.7 typically near a dark moon.
163 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
9.2 usable nights
7–11 in the middle half of years · 3.5 typically near a dark moon.
209 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
11.6 usable nights
9–14 in the middle half of years · 4.4 typically near a dark moon.
248 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
10.7 usable nights
8–13 in the middle half of years · 4.0 typically near a dark moon.
305 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.8 usable nights
4–10 in the middle half of years · 2.4 typically near a dark moon.
330 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
4.3 usable nights
3–6 in the middle half of years · 1.5 typically near a dark moon.
370 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.