With a little more than a month to go until the Perseid meteor shower streaks across the sky, Coloradans can rest assured they have a prime viewing spot.
Colorado was rated as the second-best state for spotting asteroids and meteors in the night sky, according to a new study from The Action Network, a gambling website.
The study weighed darkness of the sky, elevation, historical meteor activity and astronomical infrastructure to rank the best states for viewing such activity.
Colorado scored high in part because of its average elevation, 6,800 feet — the highest among the top 10 states — and the dark skies, with two Bortle 1 and 17 Bortle 2 sites. (The Bortle scale is a measure of how dark the sky is in a place, with a lower number indicating a darker sky where it is easier to see celestial objects.) It has seven observatories, providing more places where the public can access the skies. And its 28 reports of fireball activity in 2025 are useful data points, as past celestial activity is an indicator of where you will likely find future activity.
The data placed the implied probability of seeing an asteroid or meteor in the state’s sky at 4.45%.
“With mountain-based elevation and plenty of rural darkness, Colorado is a top destination for meteor and asteroid viewing,” the report said.
What are the top states for viewing asteroids and meteors?
How were best states for asteroid viewing determined?
The Action Network created a zero to 100 scoring system to estimate where in the U.S. you’re most likely to witness a fireball or asteroid event. The score is based on dark-sky quality, average elevation, fireball sightings in 2025 and the number of astronomical observatories in each state. It used that data to produced implied likelihood of spotting an asteroid or fireball event in percent in each state, then converted those probabilities into moneyline-style odds.
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Nate Trela covers trending news in Colorado and Utah for the USA TODAY Network.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado is a top state to spot asteroids. Here’s what to know