1.7 usable nights
0–3 in the middle half of years · 0.3 typically near a dark moon.
354 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20-year trip-planning baseline
Best time to stargaze at Pocatello
July: 14.9 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.20.0–20.6 mag/arcsec²
The short answer
July has been strongest.
It averages 14.9 usable nights, versus 1.3 in February. A typical July lands between 13 and 17 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
1.3 usable nights
0–2 in the middle half of years · 0.5 typically near a dark moon.
292 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
3.9 usable nights
1–6 in the middle half of years · 1.2 typically near a dark moon.
272 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
4.7 usable nights
3–6 in the middle half of years · 1.6 typically near a dark moon.
215 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.8 usable nights
4–9 in the middle half of years · 2.1 typically near a dark moon.
166 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
9.7 usable nights
6–12 in the middle half of years · 3.6 typically near a dark moon.
120 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
14.9 usable nights
13–17 in the middle half of years · 4.8 typically near a dark moon.
144 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
13.6 usable nights
12–16 in the middle half of years · 5.0 typically near a dark moon.
201 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
13.8 usable nights
12–16 in the middle half of years · 4.8 typically near a dark moon.
247 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
9.4 usable nights
9–11 in the middle half of years · 2.9 typically near a dark moon.
304 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
4.3 usable nights
2–6 in the middle half of years · 1.4 typically near a dark moon.
330 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
1.9 usable nights
0–3 in the middle half of years · 0.7 typically near a dark moon.
372 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.