Eight-week planning horizon
Choose your observing weekend
Swift Current · ranked by total moonless dark hours across Friday and Saturday. Seasonal history is context, not the chance of clear weather on those dates.
Moonless time rank 14 Dec – 5 Dec
22.0h moonless / 23.3h astronomical darkness across both nights
December seasonal context
1.2 usable nights/month on average · 2005–2024. Historical regional cloud and darkness, not this weekend’s weather odds.
Night-by-night timing & conditions
Friday
10.3h moonless · Moon 13% lit
Longest moonless stretch: 19:20–05:40
Weather not available for this night. Geometry only; recheck nearer departure.
Saturday
11.7h moonless · Moon 7% lit
Longest moonless stretch: 19:20–07:00
Weather not available for this night. Geometry only; recheck nearer departure.
6 Nov – 7 Nov
21.7h moonless / 21.7h astronomical darkness across both nights
November seasonal context
1.9 usable nights/month on average · 2005–2024. Historical regional cloud and darkness, not this weekend’s weather odds.
Night-by-night timing & conditions
Friday
10.7h moonless · Moon 4% lit
Longest moonless stretch: 19:40–06:20
Weather not available for this night. Geometry only; recheck nearer departure.
Saturday
11.0h moonless · Moon 1% lit
Longest moonless stretch: 19:40–06:40
Weather not available for this night. Geometry only; recheck nearer departure.
13 Nov – 14 Nov
19.0h moonless / 22.0h astronomical darkness across both nights
November seasonal context
1.9 usable nights/month on average · 2005–2024. Historical regional cloud and darkness, not this weekend’s weather odds.
Night-by-night timing & conditions
Friday
10.0h moonless · Moon 22% lit
Longest moonless stretch: 20:40–06:40
Weather not available for this night. Geometry only; recheck nearer departure.
Saturday
9.0h moonless · Moon 30% lit
Longest moonless stretch: 21:40–06:40
Weather not available for this night. Geometry only; recheck nearer departure.
16 Oct – 17 Oct
15.3h moonless / 19.3h astronomical darkness across both nights
October seasonal context
4.8 usable nights/month on average · 2005–2024. Historical regional cloud and darkness, not this weekend’s weather odds.
Night-by-night timing & conditions
Friday
8.3h moonless · Moon 37% lit
Longest moonless stretch: 21:40–06:00
Forecast cloud range: 0–0% at 1 available dark-time samples. Not full-night coverage or a probability.
Saturday
7.0h moonless · Moon 47% lit
Longest moonless stretch: 23:00–06:00
Weather not available for this night. Geometry only; recheck nearer departure.
30 Oct – 31 Oct
4.3h moonless / 21.0h astronomical darkness across both nights
October seasonal context
4.8 usable nights/month on average · 2005–2024. Historical regional cloud and darkness, not this weekend’s weather odds.
Night-by-night timing & conditions
Friday
1.3h moonless · Moon 69% lit
Longest moonless stretch: 20:00–21:20
Weather not available for this night. Geometry only; recheck nearer departure.
Saturday
3.0h moonless · Moon 58% lit
Longest moonless stretch: 19:40–22:40
Weather not available for this night. Geometry only; recheck nearer departure.
27 Nov – 28 Nov
3.3h moonless / 23.3h astronomical darkness across both nights
November seasonal context
1.9 usable nights/month on average · 2005–2024. Historical regional cloud and darkness, not this weekend’s weather odds.
Night-by-night timing & conditions
Friday
1.0h moonless · Moon 83% lit
Longest moonless stretch: 19:20–20:20
Weather not available for this night. Geometry only; recheck nearer departure.
Saturday
2.3h moonless · Moon 73% lit
Longest moonless stretch: 19:20–21:40
Weather not available for this night. Geometry only; recheck nearer departure.
20 Nov – 21 Nov
1.7h moonless / 23.0h astronomical darkness across both nights
November seasonal context
1.9 usable nights/month on average · 2005–2024. Historical regional cloud and darkness, not this weekend’s weather odds.
Night-by-night timing & conditions
Friday
1.3h moonless · Moon 86% lit
Longest moonless stretch: 05:20–06:40
Weather not available for this night. Geometry only; recheck nearer departure.
Saturday
0.3h moonless · Moon 92% lit
Longest moonless stretch: 06:40–07:00
Weather not available for this night. Geometry only; recheck nearer departure.
23 Oct – 24 Oct
0.0h moonless / 20.3h astronomical darkness across both nights
October seasonal context
4.8 usable nights/month on average · 2005–2024. Historical regional cloud and darkness, not this weekend’s weather odds.
Night-by-night timing & conditions
Friday
0.0h moonless · Moon 95% lit
No moonless dark window
Weather not available for this night. Geometry only; recheck nearer departure.
Saturday
0.0h moonless · Moon 99% lit
No moonless dark window
Weather not available for this night. Geometry only; recheck nearer departure.
How to use this planner
Choose a weekend with enough moonless time, then check the weather and target outlook before travelling. Times use America/Swift_Current and approximately 20-minute geometry samples. Friday and Saturday are ranked together; hours need not form one continuous window.
The regional NASA climate baseline counts nights with at least three hours of astronomical darkness and mean nighttime cloud at or below 30%. It does not measure telescope seeing or guarantee clear skies. No weather probabilities are inferred from monthly averages. Longer-lead forecasts have coarser sampling.
Full seasonal history and definitions →