Sacramento California St Louis Missouri Indianapolis Indiana and New York Get Perfect Stargazing Tonight Under Darkest Skies of the Month

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA — The darkest skies of the month are sticking around tonight Monday June 15 with the new moon at just 1 percent illumination, creating perfect stargazing conditions across a corridor stretching from the Desert Southwest through the Midwest and into the Northeast including Sacramento, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and New York.

Perfect Conditions Stretch From Desert Southwest to the Northeast

The Ryan Hall stargazing outlook valid Monday June 15 from 9PM to 5AM ET shows perfect sky conditions in orange covering a large swath of Nevada, Arizona, and the Desert Southwest, with a separate perfect zone centered over Missouri and Illinois near St. Louis and Indianapolis, and a third perfect zone covering portions of the Northeast including New York and southern New England.

Once the nearly invisible moon sets in the late evening, skies across these zones will go inky black, providing one of the best backdrops of the month for picking out the Milky Way away from city lights.

Venus and Jupiter Visible Low in the West After Sunset

Skywatchers across the favorable zones should look low in the west right after sunset to catch views of Venus and Jupiter. The driest and clearest air tonight runs in a band from the Desert Southwest through the Midwest and into the Northeast, with Sacramento, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and New York all looking particularly sharp for tonight’s viewing window.

Excellent conditions in light blue surround the perfect zones, extending favorable viewing across much of the western and central United States.

Northern Border Residents Get Outside Shot at Faint Aurora

Residents near the Canadian border have an outside shot at spotting faint aurora low on the northern horizon tonight, with a phone camera pointed north potentially capturing additional color beyond what’s visible to the naked eye. Meanwhile coastal California and portions of the Central Plains remain socked in with fog and clouds, keeping conditions poor across those areas.

Anyone in the perfect or excellent zones across the Desert Southwest, Midwest, or Northeast should take advantage of tonight’s exceptional dark sky window.

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