Dark skies make the Milky Way; bright moons light the landscape. Find both — the darkest nights for astro are marked in gold, full-moon nights in cream.
Moon under 15% lit — go chase the Milky Way.
Over 95% lit — moonlit landscapes and moonrise over the volcanoes.
Aim for the 4–5 nights around new moon. In Ecuador the galactic core rides high from roughly February to October — pair a dark site like Cotopaxi NP with our astro calculator for settings.
A full moon acts like a giant softbox — shoot snow-capped cones and páramo at night with much shorter exposures. Best moment: moonrise at dusk, when the moon sits low and gold against the last light.
Half-lit nights are the compromise: enough darkness for bright stars, enough moonlight to hold detail in the foreground. Great for nightscapes with lakes, ruins, or haciendas.