Jasper Dark Sky Preserve stargazing in December 2026

Very short astronomical nights around the June solstice. Dark Sky Festival in October.

Tue 1 Dec to Thu 31 Dec 2026

Best night: Sat 5 December 2026

Dark from 19:45 to 07:41 · 12.0 h without the moon · Milky Way core: below horizon

Night of	Moon	Dark hours	Moon-free	Milky Way core	Score
Tue 1 Dec	40%	12.0	6.8	below horizon	85
Wed 2 Dec	30%	12.0	8.2	below horizon	92
Thu 3 Dec	21%	12.0	9.5	below horizon	96
Fri 4 Dec	13%	12.0	10.8	below horizon	99
Sat 5 Dec	7%	12.0	12.0	below horizon	100
Sun 6 Dec	3%	12.0	12.0	below horizon	100
Mon 7 Dec	1%	12.0	12.0	below horizon	100
Tue 8 Dec	0%	12.0	12.0	below horizon	100
Wed 9 Dec	2%	12.2	12.2	below horizon	100
Thu 10 Dec	5%	12.2	12.2	below horizon	100
Fri 11 Dec	9%	12.2	12.0	below horizon	100
Sat 12 Dec	16%	12.2	10.7	below horizon	98
Sun 13 Dec	23%	12.2	9.5	below horizon	96
Mon 14 Dec	32%	12.2	8.2	below horizon	91
Tue 15 Dec	42%	12.2	6.8	below horizon	85
Wed 16 Dec	52%	12.2	5.7	below horizon	76
Thu 17 Dec	62%	12.2	4.3	below horizon	66
Fri 18 Dec	72%	12.2	2.8	below horizon	53
Sat 19 Dec	82%	12.2	1.5	below horizon	39
Sun 20 Dec	89%	12.2	0.0	below horizon	24
Mon 21 Dec	95%	12.2	0.0	below horizon	19
Tue 22 Dec	99%	12.2	0.0	below horizon	16
Wed 23 Dec	100%	12.2	0.0	below horizon	15
Thu 24 Dec	98%	12.2	0.0	below horizon	17
Fri 25 Dec	93%	12.2	0.0	below horizon	21
Sat 26 Dec	87%	12.2	1.5	below horizon	36
Sun 27 Dec	78%	12.2	3.0	below horizon	50
Mon 28 Dec	68%	12.2	4.3	below horizon	63
Tue 29 Dec	57%	12.2	5.7	below horizon	74
Wed 30 Dec	46%	12.2	7.0	below horizon	83
Thu 31 Dec	36%	12.2	8.3	below horizon	90

Questions

The best nights are Sat 5 Dec, Sun 6 Dec, Mon 7 Dec, Tue 8 Dec, Wed 9 Dec, when the sky is fully dark and the moon is down for most of the night.

Not really: in December the galactic centre is below the horizon or only up in twilight or moonlight.

Weather is not included. Times are local (America/Edmonton).