A data-driven guide to stargazing
The darkest skies on Earth.Know exactly where, and when.
We are mapping the world's night skies. Every stargazing spot gets a Sky Score out of 100, computed from NASA satellite darkness, moon phase and cloud odds: where to go, the best month, and a dark place to stay nearby. Covered so far: more than 1,000 spots across the American Southwest, Spain and Portugal.
scroll: the sun comes back ☉
Satellite-measured darkness
Night-sky brightness derived from NASA Black Marble radiance and a skyglow model calibrated on reference dark-sky sites. No guesses, no crowd reports.
The right night, not just the right place
Moon phase and monthly clear-sky odds are part of the score, because a full moon washes out even a perfect sky.
Stay close to the dark
Places to stay near each spot, rated for the darkness at their own doorstep: walk out of your room and look up.
Out now
Three countries measured sky by sky. More on the way.
The American Southwest (Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas), Spain (Canary Islands, Andalusia, Extremadura, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia) and Portugal, from the Azores to Trás-os-Montes. One country at a time.