5.8 usable nights
4–6 in the middle half of years · 2.1 typically near a dark moon.
347 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20-year trip-planning baseline
Best time to stargaze at Staunton
September: 10.1 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.20.5–21.0 mag/arcsec²
The short answer
September has been strongest.
It averages 10.1 usable nights, versus 4.5 in December. A typical September lands between 7 and 11 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
5.5 usable nights
3–7 in the middle half of years · 1.6 typically near a dark moon.
290 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.4 usable nights
5–8 in the middle half of years · 1.6 typically near a dark moon.
280 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.4 usable nights
5–8 in the middle half of years · 2.0 typically near a dark moon.
237 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
5.7 usable nights
5–7 in the middle half of years · 1.7 typically near a dark moon.
186 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.3 usable nights
4–8 in the middle half of years · 1.9 typically near a dark moon.
180 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.1 usable nights
4–8 in the middle half of years · 1.7 typically near a dark moon.
186 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
7.0 usable nights
6–9 in the middle half of years · 2.3 typically near a dark moon.
223 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
10.1 usable nights
7–11 in the middle half of years · 3.6 typically near a dark moon.
251 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
10.1 usable nights
8–12 in the middle half of years · 3.5 typically near a dark moon.
308 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
7.9 usable nights
6–10 in the middle half of years · 2.6 typically near a dark moon.
329 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
4.5 usable nights
3–6 in the middle half of years · 1.6 typically near a dark moon.
365 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.