7.3 usable nights
5–9 in the middle half of years · 2.4 typically near a dark moon.
325 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20-year trip-planning baseline
Best time to stargaze at Sun City Center
May: 13.3 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 skyBortle classes describe observed sky conditions; this brightness model does not establish a measured Bortle class.19.2–19.9 mag/arcsec²
The short answer
May has been strongest.
It averages 13.3 usable nights, versus 2.0 in July. A typical May lands between 11 and 16 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
11.1 usable nights
10–14 in the middle half of years · 3.5 typically near a dark moon.
283 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.1 usable nights
11–15 in the middle half of years · 4.0 typically near a dark moon.
299 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.3 usable nights
9–15 in the middle half of years · 3.5 typically near a dark moon.
242 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
13.3 usable nights
11–16 in the middle half of years · 4.0 typically near a dark moon.
248 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
4.8 usable nights
2–7 in the middle half of years · 1.3 typically near a dark moon.
223 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
2.0 usable nights
0–3 in the middle half of years · 0.8 typically near a dark moon.
236 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
2.2 usable nights
0–3 in the middle half of years · 0.9 typically near a dark moon.
248 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
5.5 usable nights
3–8 in the middle half of years · 1.6 typically near a dark moon.
271 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
12.5 usable nights
10–15 in the middle half of years · 4.5 typically near a dark moon.
310 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
9.9 usable nights
7–13 in the middle half of years · 2.9 typically near a dark moon.
317 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
7.8 usable nights
4–10 in the middle half of years · 2.5 typically near a dark moon.
321 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.