The Night Sky in New Hampshire
This year's meteor showers, moon phases, and the darkest places to watch from in New Hampshire.
Data updated: August 2026Sources & method · Corrections
The best stargazing in New Hampshire comes on clear, moonless nights, and January, November and December give you the most of them to work with — about 15.0 hours of darkness at the December peak, computed from New Hampshire'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.
Stargazing conditions in New Hampshire depend a lot on where in the state you stand: the southern tier near the Massachusetts border and the Seacoast carry real light pollution from the Boston and Portsmouth areas, while the northern two-thirds of the state — the White Mountains and the Great North Woods — hold some of the darkest skies left in New England. Low population density, higher elevations, and large tracts of national forest and conservation land in the north mean that on a clear, moonless night the Milky Way is often visible directly overhead. Fall and winter tend to bring the driest, clearest air and the longest nights for viewing, though reaching the more remote northern spots gets tougher once snow sets in.
Dark-sky places in New Hampshire
- White Mountain National Forest — Hundreds of thousands of acres of national forest cover north-central New Hampshire, and pulling off onto a forest road well away from North Conway or Route 16 puts you under some of the most open, least light-polluted skies in the Northeast. The Kancamagus Highway's scenic overlooks are an easy, popular option for a wide-open horizon.
- Franconia Notch State Park — The notch's granite walls block some low-horizon views, but its elevation and distance from any city light dome still make for solid stargazing, especially from pull-offs near Profile Lake and Echo Lake once the day-trip traffic clears out in the evening.
- Great North Woods (Coös County) — New Hampshire's northernmost region is also its most sparsely populated, with long stretches of forest between small towns like Berlin, Colebrook, and Pittsburg. On a clear night away from those town centers, this is about as dark as skies get anywhere in New England.
- Pisgah State Park — New Hampshire's largest state park, at roughly 13,000 acres in the state's southwestern Monadnock region, sits well clear of any sizable town. Its trails and clearings make it a solid choice for stargazers in the southern part of the state who don't want to drive all the way north.
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 New Hampshire nights are worth the drive
The year's meteor peaks with the moon already worked out, and the darkest places in New Hampshire to watch them from.
The complete The Night Sky over New Hampshire
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 New Hampshire.