The Night Sky in Texas
This year's meteor showers, moon phases, and the darkest places to watch from in Texas.
Data updated: August 2026Sources & method · Corrections
The best stargazing in Texas comes on clear, moonless nights, and January, November and December give you the most of them to work with — about 13.9 hours of darkness at the December peak, computed from Texas'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.
Texas is vast, and much of it remains sparsely populated, which leaves large stretches of the state with skies mostly free of city light. That's especially true in the wide-open landscapes of the far west, the Hill Country, and the northern plains, where the population is thin and the horizon is long. Texas is home to several certified International Dark Sky Parks spread across these very different regions, and even outside their boundaries, a lot of rural Texas still delivers a genuinely dark, star-filled sky on a clear night.
Dark-sky places in Texas
- Big Bend National Park — An International Dark Sky Park in the remote Chihuahuan Desert of far West Texas, with some of the darkest measured skies of any U.S. national park and a wide-open view of the Milky Way on clear nights.
- Enchanted Rock State Natural Area — A certified International Dark Sky Park in the Hill Country west of Austin; the granite dome's summit opens onto an unobstructed horizon that makes for excellent night-sky viewing.
- Copper Breaks State Park — An International Dark Sky Park set in the rolling prairie of North Texas near the Panhandle, offering dark, rural skies well away from any major city's light dome.
- Rural state parks and public land in West Texas — Beyond the certified dark sky parks, much of West Texas is sparsely populated ranchland and public land far from any major city's glow, where state parks and rural areas regularly offer clear, star-filled skies on cloudless nights.
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 Texas nights are worth the drive
The year's meteor peaks with the moon already worked out, and the darkest places in Texas to watch them from.
The complete The Night Sky over Texas
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 Texas.