5.0 usable nights
2–7 in the middle half of years · 1.5 typically near a dark moon.
351 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20-year trip-planning baseline
Best time to stargaze at Salt Lake City
September: 15.8 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 urban skyBortle classes describe observed sky conditions; this brightness model does not establish a measured Bortle class.18.1–18.8 mag/arcsec²
The short answer
September has been strongest.
It averages 15.8 usable nights, versus 3.4 in February. A typical September lands between 13 and 19 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
3.4 usable nights
1–4 in the middle half of years · 1.1 typically near a dark moon.
291 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
4.0 usable nights
2–5 in the middle half of years · 1.1 typically near a dark moon.
276 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.0 usable nights
4–7 in the middle half of years · 1.9 typically near a dark moon.
224 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
7.5 usable nights
5–10 in the middle half of years · 2.1 typically near a dark moon.
186 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.4 usable nights
8–16 in the middle half of years · 4.1 typically near a dark moon.
123 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
14.2 usable nights
11–17 in the middle half of years · 4.5 typically near a dark moon.
168 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
14.8 usable nights
13–16 in the middle half of years · 5.5 typically near a dark moon.
211 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
15.8 usable nights
13–19 in the middle half of years · 5.5 typically near a dark moon.
249 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
11.8 usable nights
10–13 in the middle half of years · 3.5 typically near a dark moon.
306 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
7.0 usable nights
4–10 in the middle half of years · 2.0 typically near a dark moon.
330 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
3.9 usable nights
1–6 in the middle half of years · 0.9 typically near a dark moon.
369 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.