Sponsored charts provide additional features, like data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts system, shown in the “ECMWF Cloud” row. Hover over the darkness square to get the Sun or Moon’s altitude.īelow the chart are detailed instructions and indices for the colour codes. Hover over a square under cloud cover and you’ll see the predicted percentage.The transparency and seeing have a rating out of five. When you’re viewing a chart on the website, you can hover your mouse pointer over the little squares to get pop-ups with more detail. The bright Moon’s presence will lighten some of those dark blue squares. As such, I’d probably plan to go stargazing on Saturday … and clean the eyepieces on Friday night.Īs for darkness levels, daylight and twilight times are shown on this row. Seeing is also poor on Friday, but better on Saturday. Transparency, on the other hand, is cyan-coloured for Friday night and darker on Saturday. In the example, cloud cover is dark blue for the next three nights. In the cloud cover, sky transparency and atmospheric seeing rows, you look for those blue “paint chips.” Dark blue is best, whereas white or grey means bad conditions are predicted. A screenshot of the Calgary, Alberta, Clear Sky Chart home page. Midnight is marked with a red vertical line. When I see a band of dark blue, I get excited - it’s time to do some astronomy! Reading their chartsįull charts show plenty of detail, like cloud cover, sky transparency, atmospheric seeing and darkness levels. I have little Clear Sky Charts on my Windows desktop, monitoring sky conditions for my favourite locations. Nevertheless, this resource presents local data relevant to astronomers in an easy-to-interpret fashion and it is one of the most valuable tools in helping you decide whether to get the gear outside or stay cooped up inside. As with any weather report, forecasts can be less accurate the further ahead in time they predict. There are more than 6,400 free charts available for Canadian locations and beyond.ĬSC shows sky clarity predictions up to three nights in advance, updated twice a day. One of the most popular and well-known tools for Canadian astronomers, the Clear Sky Chart (CSC) website was built by amateur astronomer Attilla Danko using data prepared by Alan Rahill of Environment Canada. level of smoke and particulate from forest fires.period of light and dark and the effect of moonlight.There is an app for iOS mobile devices, but no app for the Android platform. Astronomy society and club sites often include location-specific charts you can click on to access the full page. You can create applets in Rainmeter for Windows to monitor your favourite charts. The Clear Sky Chart website can be viewed in a web browser. Is it going to be clear tonight? Should I set the telescope up in the backyard? If I drive 100 kilometres out of my city’s light pollution, will it be worth it? Find out how you can predict the future with the Clear Sky Chart website.
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