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The interactive dark-sky atlas

Every destination I cover, on one map: aurora country crowding the poles, the great desert skies strung along the dry latitudes, and the island observatories in between. Filter by what you want overhead, the month you can actually travel, and how dark the sky really gets — then tap a pin to open the full guide. For the ranked comparison, the destinations page keeps the verdicts.

Interactive map (requires JavaScript) — the full destination list is below.
Browse the list ↓

The aurora belt

Desert skies

North American dark-sky parks

Islands & southern skies

Month-by-month guides

Jan — where to go stargazing in January Feb — where to go stargazing in February Mar — where to go stargazing in March Apr — where to go stargazing in April May — where to go stargazing in May Jun — where to go stargazing in June Jul — where to go stargazing in July Aug — where to go stargazing in August Sep — where to go stargazing in September Oct — where to go stargazing in October Nov — where to go stargazing in November Dec — where to go stargazing in December

Frequently asked questions

How do I read the map's pins?

Each pin is one destination, and the glow around it encodes measured sky darkness: the wider the halo, the darker the sky, with Bortle 1 sites getting the widest. Tap any pin for a quick preview and the link to that destination’s full guide.

What does the sky-darkness overlay show?

The toggle in the map’s top-left corner adds a light-pollution layer from David Lorenz’s 2024 Light Pollution Atlas. Brighter tones mean more artificial skyglow; the black zones are where the night still goes properly dark. Zoom in on a destination to see how far its dark sky actually extends.

How does the best-month filter decide what to show?

Every destination carries a 0–3 score for each month of the year, from the same seasonal model behind the month-by-month guides. Selecting a month keeps the destinations scoring 2 or higher — good or peak — for that month. For the ranked breakdown, open the month’s full guide from the link that appears under the filters.

Should I use the map or the destinations list?

The map answers “where is it, and what’s nearby” — the fastest way to see that aurora country clusters near the poles while the great Milky Way skies sit along the desert latitudes. The destinations page is the ranked comparison, with editor’s picks and season verdicts. Start with whichever matches your question; each links to the other.