The 2026 Asteroid Spotting Index · All 50 States

America’s Best Places to Spot a Meteor, Ranked

50 states ranked 36,719 fireballs ’21–’25 66 Bortle 1 sites 6 weighted metrics

No. 1 in the Country

California1.4× second-place Arizona · 4.5× the US median · 12× last-place Vermont

0.00%

Implied Spotting ChanceHighest among all 50 states

+1262 Action Network Odds

39Bortle 1–2 sites

174Clear days / yr

2,897Fireball events

45Observatories

Best seat in the state: Death Valley National Park, near Furnace CreekBortle 1 sky

Key Findings

Five Takeaways From the 2026 Index

The two best skies in the country, the two worst, and the state where meteorites most often reach the ground.

Overall No. 1

California Laps the Field

California leads with a 7.34% implied spotting chance, 2.20 percentage points above second-place Arizona. Its +1262 Action Network odds reflect 39 sites with Bortle Class 1–2 skies, plus 174 clear days a year and 45 observatories.

39Bortle 1–2 sites 7.34%Implied spotting chance +1262AN odds

Overall No. 2

Arizona Owns the Clear Nights

No state averages more clear days: 197 a year, nearly double the national average of 103. Add the nation’s most observatories and 26 DarkSky-certified places, and second place was never in doubt.

197Clear days / yr 5.14%Implied spotting chance +1844AN odds

Overall No. 49

Delaware Has Nowhere to Hide From the Light

One of only five states with zero dark-sky points (not a single Bortle 1–3 site), the First State’s best listed option, Delaware Seashore State Park, sits under a suburban Bortle 4 sky.

0Bortle 1–3 sites 0.66%Implied spotting chance +15149AN odds

Overall No. 50

Vermont Is the Longest Shot

A 0.61% implied spotting chance, about one-twelfth of California’s, puts the Green Mountain State 50th at +16371. Vermont has 58 clear days a year against a national average of 103. The consolation: Big Deer State Park still offers a genuine Bortle 2 sky.

58Clear days / yr 0.61%Implied spotting chance +16371AN odds

Meteorite Capital

Texas Is Where the Rocks Actually Land

Of the 134 witnessed falls in NASA’s U.S. landings archive, 11 came down in Texas, the most of any state, from 1906 through the Ash Creek fall of 2009. Texas still ranks fourth overall for spotting.

11NASA recorded falls 4.16%Implied spotting chance +2302AN odds

The 2026 Rankings

All 50 States: Implied Chances and Odds

Action Network’s odds experts scored all 50 states on six sky and viewing factors and converted each score into American moneyline odds. Those odds convert to an implied spotting chance, which determines the final ranking. Read the country at a glance on the map, where darker states are longer shots and brighter green indicates a higher implied chance, or switch to the full table and select any row for the state’s viewing site and complete sky data.

Hover or tap any state for its rank, implied chance, and odds.

The Strike Map

Shaded by implied spotting chance · strikes replay NASA’s 134 witnessed falls

Each strike replays a documented, witnessed meteorite fall from NASA’s archive.

Rank	State	Implied Spotting ChanceImplied Chance	Action Network OddsAN Odds	Clear Days	Fireballs ’21–’25	Dark-Sky Pts	Best Viewing Site

Top 10 in Focus

The States That Own the Night Sky

What separates the ten best meteor-spotting states, one angle at a time.

California

California takes the top spot on sheer depth: 39 sites rated Bortle Class 1 or 2, the two darkest grades on the scale astronomers use, plus 45 observatories and more fireball reports than any other state. Death Valley National Park is the crown jewel, but the No. 1 ranking is really about how many routes the state offers to a truly dark night.

7.34%Implied spotting chance
+1262AN odds
7 / 32Bortle 1 / 2 sites
2,900 ftAvg elevation
2,897Fireballs ’21–’25
45Observatories

Arizona

Arizona builds its case on reliability: 197 clear days a year, the national high, plus 48 observatories, the most anywhere and proof of how astronomers vote with their telescopes. Grand Canyon National Park’s South Rim is the showcase, pairing a Class 1 sky with all that dependable weather.

5.14%Implied spotting chance
+1844AN odds
1 / 7Bortle 1 / 2 sites
4,100 ftAvg elevation
981Fireballs ’21–’25
48Observatories

Utah

Utah has done more than any state to protect its night sky: 28 DarkSky-certified places lead the country, and a 6,100-foot average elevation keeps the viewing crisp. Class 1 anchors like Canyonlands National Park sit at the heart of that certified network.

4.54%Implied spotting chance
+2105AN odds
6 / 18Bortle 1 / 2 sites
6,100 ftAvg elevation
551Fireballs ’21–’25
5Observatories

Texas

Texas earns fourth on sheer activity: 1,907 fireball reports since 2021, second only to California, and 11 witnessed meteorite falls in NASA’s archive, the most anywhere. Big Bend National Park supplies the sky to watch it all from, protecting one of the darkest nights in the Lower 48.

4.16%Implied spotting chance
+2302AN odds
2 / 11Bortle 1 / 2 sites
1,700 ftAvg elevation
1,907Fireballs ’21–’25
14Observatories

Colorado

Colorado starts closer to the sky than any state, with a 6,800-foot average elevation, the highest in the country, and 22 DarkSky-certified places spread across it. Dinosaur National Monument’s Class 1 rating gives all that altitude somewhere to point.

4.08%Implied spotting chance
+2349AN odds
2 / 17Bortle 1 / 2 sites
6,800 ftAvg elevation
929Fireballs ’21–’25
7Observatories

New Mexico

New Mexico’s high desert is built for this: four Class 1 sites, nearly 166 clear days a year, and thin, dry air across a 5,700-foot average elevation. Clayton Lake State Park, the state’s best seat, layers a dinosaur trackway beneath one of the darkest skies in the Southwest.

3.93%Implied spotting chance
+2448AN odds
4 / 13Bortle 1 / 2 sites
5,700 ftAvg elevation
446Fireballs ’21–’25
13Observatories

Oregon

Oregon’s dark-sky wealth trails only California: 78 points built on seven Class 1 sites, a tally matching California’s own. The catch is weather, around 92 clear days a year, so a night at Bates State Park needs choosing carefully.

3.59%Implied spotting chance
+2688AN odds
7 / 25Bortle 1 / 2 sites
3,300 ftAvg elevation
681Fireballs ’21–’25
4Observatories

Nevada

Nevada is mostly high, mostly empty, and mostly dark: five Class 1 sites and 153 clear days a year keep it comfortably in the top 10 even with Las Vegas glowing in one corner. Great Basin National Park is the flagship of all that emptiness.

3.02%Implied spotting chance
+3215AN odds
5 / 6Bortle 1 / 2 sites
5,500 ftAvg elevation
475Fireballs ’21–’25
1Observatories

Michigan

Michigan is the only state east of the Mississippi to crack the top 10, powered by 1,024 fireball reports and a rare eastern Class 1 sky. That sky belongs to Muskallonge Lake State Park in the Upper Peninsula, and it overcomes 69 clear days a year, the fewest in the top tier.

2.38%Implied spotting chance
+4103AN odds
1 / 20Bortle 1 / 2 sites
900 ftAvg elevation
1,024Fireballs ’21–’25
12Observatories

Oklahoma

Oklahoma closes the top tier from its panhandle, which stretches about as far from city light as the central US allows. Black Mesa State Park is the payoff: a Class 1 anchor under 133 clear days a year.

2.30%Implied spotting chance
+4241AN odds
1 / 5Bortle 1 / 2 sites
1,300 ftAvg elevation
644Fireballs ’21–’25
4Observatories

Notable Mentions Beyond the Top 10

Just outside the ten, Kansas and Idaho open the second tier, and Idaho’s Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve remains the first of its kind in the country. Alaska owns more Bortle Class 1 sites than any state, 13 of them, but roughly 60 clear days a year hold it to 13th. Florida’s 1,889 fireball reports rank third nationally, and Pennsylvania’s Cherry Springs State Park is still the East Coast’s most famous dark-sky destination.

Hawaii’s 28 observatories trail only Arizona, New York quietly operates 21 of its own, and Minnesota hides a genuine Class 1 sky at Judge C.R. Magney State Park on the North Shore. The full table above covers all 50 states, each with a spotting score, an implied chance, and converted Action Network odds.

The Leaderboards

The Top 10 for Every Metric

Unique fireball events (exceptionally bright meteors) reported to the American Meteor Society by state, 2021–2025. Fireball activity accounts for 20% of the odds model. Population helps because more eyes mean more reports, but the top of this chart still tracks closely with the overall ranking.

Meteorite History

America’s Meteorite Capitals

NASA’s landings archive records 39 states with at least one documented, witnessed fall. No state has collected more than these four.

Most Recorded Falls

Texas11 falls

No state has more witnessed meteorite falls in the NASA archive, from 1906 through the Ash Creek fall of 2009.

Second Most Falls

North Carolina9 falls

Every one came down between 1810 and 1934, starting with Caswell County, the earliest fall in the dataset. Yet the Tar Heel State ranks just 16th for spotting.

Tied for Third

Kansas7 falls

Among them is the Norton County meteorite of 1948: at 1,100 kg, more than a ton of space rock, it is still the heaviest witnessed fall in the archive.

Tied for Third

Missouri7 falls

A century-long streak from Little Piney in 1839 to St. Louis in 1950: seven falls for a state that sits only 28th in this year’s index.

Methodology

How the Odds Model Works

Action Network’s odds experts assessed six viewing factors across all 50 states. Each factor was rescaled using min–max normalization and weighted as shown below. The combined model informed each state’s American moneyline odds. Each set of odds converts to an implied probability, the standard sportsbook measure, presented throughout this study as the implied spotting chance that sets the final ranking.

Bortle 1–3 dark-sky sitesBortle rates sky darkness from 1 (darkest) to 9; Class 1 = 4 pts, Class 2 = 2, Class 3 = 1 per site

30%

Annual clear daysMean NOAA clear days across each state’s stations

25%

Fireball eventsUnique American Meteor Society fireball reports, 2021–2025

20%

Observatory countVerified observatories per state

10%

DarkSky-certified placesCertified by DarkSky International, the light-pollution nonprofit

10%

Average elevationMean state elevation in feet

From Factors to Odds and Implied Chance

Stronger viewing conditions produce shorter odds and a higher implied spotting chance. California leads at +1262, which converts to a 7.34% implied chance, while the longest shots run past +16000 and fall below a 1% implied chance.

Recommended viewing sites are each state’s lowest-Bortle-class public site, with ties broken by DarkSky certification and clearly identified public land. Nighttime access is not verified, so check with the site before traveling.

These implied spotting chances and odds are model-based editorial comparisons created for entertainment. They do not represent an actual betting market or guarantee that an asteroid, meteor, fireball, or meteorite will be seen.

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Key Findings Cards

The five takeaways with animated fireball tallies, implied chances, and Action Network odds.

Strike Map & Rankings

Interactive heat map of all 50 states with the sortable full table.

The Leaderboards

Top-ten bar charts for fireballs, clear days, dark-sky points and elevation.

Meteorite Capitals

The four states with the most witnessed falls in NASA’s archive.

Methodology Weights

How the six viewing factors inform the Action Network odds model.

The Headline Card

The intro in one compact embed: the masthead, the headline numbers, and No. 1 California with its odds.

Questions or custom sizes: contact the Action Network content team.