The Night Sky in Colorado
This year's meteor showers, moon phases, and the darkest places to watch from in Colorado.
Data updated: August 2026Sources & method · Corrections
The best stargazing in Colorado comes on clear, moonless nights, and January, November and December give you the most of them to work with — about 14.6 hours of darkness at the December peak, computed from Colorado's own sun times. Below: this year's meteor-shower peaks and how bright the moon will be for each, a month-by-month new- and full-moon calendar, and the darkest places to watch from.
Colorado's largest light domes sit over the Front Range corridor -- Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, and Fort Collins -- where most of the state's population is concentrated. West of the Continental Divide, the picture changes quickly: the Western Slope, the San Juan Mountains, and the high-desert canyon country near the Four Corners are thinly populated, sit at elevation, and benefit from the dry, stable air that has long drawn astronomers to the Rocky Mountain West. Several of the state's darkest, most rigorously measured night skies have earned official recognition, concentrated in that remote canyon country in Colorado's west and southwest. Clear nights are most reliable in winter and early summer, before the July-August monsoon season brings afternoon cloud buildup, and across most of rural Colorado, a short drive is usually enough to leave the nearest city's glow behind.
Dark-sky places in Colorado
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park — Certified as an International Dark Sky Park, this steep-walled canyon near Montrose sits at high elevation on Colorado's Western Slope, well away from major cities. Rim overlooks offer wide-open views of the Milky Way, and the park runs seasonal ranger-led astronomy programs.
- Dinosaur National Monument — An International Dark Sky Park whose rugged canyon country straddles the Colorado-Utah border in the state's remote northwestern corner. Most of the monument's high-desert terrain lies within Moffat County, Colorado, far removed from significant light pollution.
- Hovenweep National Monument — Certified as an International Dark Sky Park, Hovenweep spans the Colorado-Utah line in the Four Corners region, with several of its ancestral Puebloan village sites located in Montezuma County, Colorado. Its remoteness and high-desert setting make for exceptionally dark, steady skies.
- Remote public lands in southern and western Colorado — Beyond the named parks, national forest land and state parks in areas such as the San Juan Mountains and other stretches of the Western Slope sit far enough from Denver, Colorado Springs, and other Front Range cities to offer genuinely dark, low-light-pollution skies on a clear night.
Ranger programs, star parties and opening hours change season to season — check with the site before you drive out.
The sky this month (August)
The moon in August: New moon Aug 12 · Full moon Aug 28. Darkest skies fall around Aug 7–Aug 17, near the new moon.
Meteor showers peaking in August:
| Meteor shower | Peak | Meteors/hr | Moon | Best time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perseids | Aug 12 | 100 | 0% near-new | late evening to dawn |
Meteor showers in 2026
| Meteor shower | Peak | Meteors/hr | Moon | Best time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quadrantids | Jan 3 | 120 | 100% near-full | after midnight into dawn |
| Lyrids | Apr 22 | 18 | 29% crescent | after midnight |
| Eta Aquariids | May 6 | 50 | 83% gibbous | pre-dawn (better in the South) |
| Southern Delta Aquariids | Jul 30 | 25 | 100% near-full | pre-dawn |
| Perseids | Aug 12 | 100 | 0% near-new | late evening to dawn |
| Draconids | Oct 8 | 10 | 7% crescent | early evening |
| Orionids | Oct 21 | 20 | 74% gibbous | after midnight |
| Southern Taurids | Nov 5 | 5 | 16% crescent | late evening (slow, bright fireballs) |
| Northern Taurids | Nov 12 | 5 | 8% crescent | late evening (slow, bright fireballs) |
| Leonids | Nov 17 | 15 | 48% quarter moon | after midnight |
| Geminids | Dec 14 | 150 | 22% crescent | evening to dawn (best all year) |
| Ursids | Dec 22 | 10 | 95% near-full | after midnight |
Moon phases in 2026
| Month | New moon (darkest) | Full moon |
|---|---|---|
| January | Jan 18 | Jan 3 |
| February | Feb 17 | Feb 1 |
| March | Mar 18 | Mar 3 |
| April | Apr 17 | Apr 1 |
| May | May 16 | May 1, May 31 |
| June | Jun 14 | Jun 29 |
| July | Jul 14 | Jul 29 |
| August | Aug 12 | Aug 28 |
| September | Sep 10 | Sep 26 |
| October | Oct 10 | Oct 26 |
| November | Nov 9 | Nov 24 |
| December | Dec 8 | Dec 23 |
Which Colorado nights are worth the drive
The year's meteor peaks with the moon already worked out, and the darkest places in Colorado to watch them from.
The complete The Night Sky over Colorado
A stargazing companion for the state that does not expire: the meteor calendar, the darkest places, and how to read any year's sky.
Want it on paper? See the printable The Night Sky over Colorado.