1.4 usable nights
0–2 in the middle half of years · 0.3 typically near a dark moon.
357 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20-year trip-planning baseline
Best time to stargaze at The Dalles
July: 20.7 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
Brightened skyBortle classes describe observed sky conditions; this brightness model does not establish a measured Bortle class.21.0–21.3 mag/arcsec²
The short answer
July has been strongest.
It averages 20.7 usable nights, versus 1.4 in January. A typical July lands between 18 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
3.4 usable nights
1–5 in the middle half of years · 1.1 typically near a dark moon.
292 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
3.1 usable nights
1–5 in the middle half of years · 1.1 typically near a dark moon.
268 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
4.4 usable nights
2–6 in the middle half of years · 1.6 typically near a dark moon.
204 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
6.9 usable nights
3–10 in the middle half of years · 2.6 typically near a dark moon.
144 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
10.3 usable nights
8–12 in the middle half of years · 3.6 typically near a dark moon.
105 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
20.7 usable nights
18–24 in the middle half of years · 6.9 typically near a dark moon.
126 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
18.4 usable nights
15–22 in the middle half of years · 7.0 typically near a dark moon.
187 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
13.6 usable nights
11–16 in the middle half of years · 4.5 typically near a dark moon.
245 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
8.8 usable nights
5–11 in the middle half of years · 2.1 typically near a dark moon.
303 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
3.0 usable nights
1–4 in the middle half of years · 0.6 typically near a dark moon.
334 astronomical-dark hours in an average month
1.7 usable nights
0–2 in the middle half of years · 0.3 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.