7.2 usable nights
5–9 in the middle half of years · 2.4 typically near a dark moon.
339 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20-year trip-planning baseline
Best time to stargaze at Stafford
October: 18.7 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.17.8–18.5 mag/arcsec²
The short answer
October has been strongest.
It averages 18.7 usable nights, versus 6.3 in February. A typical October lands between 14 and 24 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
6.3 usable nights
3–8 in the middle half of years · 2.0 typically near a dark moon.
283 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.5 usable nights
5–8 in the middle half of years · 2.1 typically near a dark moon.
296 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
7.3 usable nights
5–10 in the middle half of years · 2.6 typically near a dark moon.
240 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
8.8 usable nights
6–11 in the middle half of years · 2.8 typically near a dark moon.
242 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
13.2 usable nights
11–16 in the middle half of years · 3.9 typically near a dark moon.
180 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
11.1 usable nights
9–15 in the middle half of years · 4.5 typically near a dark moon.
222 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.4 usable nights
10–16 in the middle half of years · 4.3 typically near a dark moon.
248 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
14.6 usable nights
11–18 in the middle half of years · 5.0 typically near a dark moon.
266 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
18.7 usable nights
14–24 in the middle half of years · 6.8 typically near a dark moon.
310 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
11.3 usable nights
10–15 in the middle half of years · 3.6 typically near a dark moon.
321 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.8 usable nights
5–9 in the middle half of years · 2.5 typically near a dark moon.
330 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.