The Night Sky in Oklahoma
This year's meteor showers, moon phases, and the darkest places to watch from in Oklahoma.
Data updated: August 2026Sources & method · Corrections
The best stargazing in Oklahoma comes on clear, moonless nights, and January, November and December give you the most of them to work with — about 14.2 hours of darkness at the December peak, computed from Oklahoma'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.
Oklahoma's skies are darkest out west, well away from the light glow of Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The flat, sparsely populated High Plains of the panhandle hold some of the blackest skies in the southern Great Plains, while the granite uplands of the Wichita Mountains give central and southern Oklahoma a more accessible dark-sky escape. Clear, dry, low-humidity air behind a passing cold front often delivers the steadiest viewing, especially in fall and winter when nights are longest and haze is lowest. Local astronomy clubs around the state's two big cities run public star parties whenever conditions cooperate.
Dark-sky places in Oklahoma
- Black Mesa State Park and the Oklahoma Panhandle (near Kenton) — Home to Black Mesa, the state's highest point at nearly 4,975 feet, this remote far-western corner of the panhandle sits farther from city light than anywhere else in Oklahoma. Black Mesa State Park and nearby Lake Carl Etling host occasional star parties under some of the darkest skies in the southern Great Plains.
- Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge (near Lawton) — This large protected expanse of granite peaks and mixed-grass prairie in southwestern Oklahoma stays largely undeveloped, and its distance from the Lawton and Oklahoma City light domes makes it the most accessible genuinely dark sky for central Oklahoma stargazers.
- Rural western Oklahoma prairie and ranch country — Beyond Black Mesa itself, the thinly populated High Plains and mixed-grass prairie stretching across the rest of western Oklahoma offer wide-open, unobstructed horizons. Pull off a quiet county road well past the edge of any town and the sky opens up considerably.
- Local astronomy club dark-sky sites near Oklahoma City and Tulsa — Oklahoma's astronomy clubs maintain their own observing sites away from the metro glow, including the Oklahoma City club's Cheddar Ranch Observatory, and run public star parties there whenever the weather and moon phase cooperate.
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 Oklahoma nights are worth the drive
The year's meteor peaks with the moon already worked out, and the darkest places in Oklahoma to watch them from.
The complete The Night Sky over Oklahoma
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 Oklahoma.