The core clears 10 degrees during full darkness on most nights from February to October. In January, November and December it's out of reach, either too close to the Sun or too low in the dark.
Core score by month
| Month | Core score | Best week | Moon-free core hours a night | Average cloud |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | Core not visible | 0 | 47% |
| February | 6 | February 10 to 16 | 0.5 | 46% |
| March | 23 | March 9 to 15 | 1.7 | 45% |
| April | 43 | April 6 to 12 | 2.8 | 39% |
| May | 64 | May 3 to 9 | 3.9 | 34% |
| June | 77 | June 1 to 7 | 5.1 | 23% |
| July | 70 | July 1 to 7 | 4.8 | 30% |
| August | 59 | August 1 to 7 | 3.1 | 24% |
| September | 30 | September 21 to 27 | 1.5 | 21% |
| October | 7 | October 1 to 7 | 0.4 | 30% |
| November | 0 | Core not visible | 0 | 40% |
| December | 0 | Core not visible | 0 | 48% |
Times are for the best seven nights in each month. Moon-free means the moon is below the horizon. The core counts as visible above 10 degrees in full darkness, when the Sun is more than 18 degrees below the horizon.
The best nights in 2027
- May: May 7 is the best night. The core is above 10 degrees and the moon is down from 12:18 am to 4:08 am, with the moon 5% lit that night.
- June: June 4 is the best night. The core is above 10 degrees and the moon is down from 10:28 pm to 3:38 am, with the moon 0% lit that night.
- July: July 1 is the best night. The core is above 10 degrees and the moon is down from 10:08 pm to 3:08 am, with the moon 5% lit that night.
Clock times are Pacific time with daylight saving applied. The best nights fall around the new moon, so the dates shift by about 11 days each year.
About Death Valley National Park
Death Valley in California is the hottest, driest and lowest national park in the country. Badwater Basin sits 282 feet below sea level, and the air temperature has hit 134 degrees Fahrenheit at Furnace Creek, the highest reading ever recorded on Earth. Yet it also has snow-capped peaks, wildflower blooms and shifting dunes.
The Timbisha Shoshone have lived here for a thousand years or more. Prospectors came for gold and borax in the 1800s, and the mule teams that hauled borax out became famous. Death Valley became a national monument in 1933 and a national park in 1994.
Death Valley National Park is a national park in California and Nevada. The National Park Service places its center at 36.49 degrees north and 117.13 degrees west, and the sky calculations on this page use that point. Visitor information, fees and alerts are on the park's own page. National Park Service (opens in a new tab).
How Death Valley National Park compares
Its best monthly core score of 77 ranks 6 of 54 national park units that can see the core. The highest is Lassen Volcanic National Park at 86, and the lowest is Voyageurs National Park at 13. Cloud at Death Valley National Park runs from 21% in September to 48% in December.
The score ranks months and parks. It isn't a forecast for any night, and it leaves out local weather, smoke and light from nearby towns. How the core score works.
How dark is the sky?
The Park Service models how much artificial light brightens the sky across the lower 48. At the point used for Death Valley National Park, it puts the added glow at about 7% of the natural brightness of a moonless sky (a ratio of 0.067). That makes it 10th darkest of the 47 parks it covers. Lower is darker. This is a model, not a reading taken at the park, and it describes one point, so the edges of a large park can differ.
Questions people ask
When is the best time to see the Milky Way at Death Valley National Park?
May, June and July are the best months. The best week of 2027 is June 1 to 7.
Can you see the Milky Way at Death Valley National Park all year?
The core clears 10 degrees during full darkness on most nights from February to October. In January, November and December it's out of reach, either too close to the Sun or too low in the dark.
How dark is the sky at Death Valley National Park?
The Park Service models how much artificial light brightens the sky across the lower 48. At the point used for Death Valley National Park, it puts the added glow at about 7% of the natural brightness of a moonless sky (a ratio of 0.067). That makes it 10th darkest of the 47 parks it covers. Lower is darker. This is a model, not a reading taken at the park, and it describes one point, so the edges of a large park can differ.
Does the moon matter at Death Valley National Park?
Yes. A bright moon hides the Milky Way. The best night in June is June 4, when the moon is 0% lit and the core is above 10 degrees from 10:28 pm to 3:38 am.
