Gopherville Observatory
Clear Sky Chart
History

This sumarizes the distribution of each different forecast outcome for the Gopherville Observatory clear sky chart from 2005-11-06 to 2025-03-12.

This page is a summary of past forecasts. Even though it's based only on forecasts, some people use these pages as clue to a site's climate. But climate data based on actual observation should be preferred (if you can find it!).

Cloud, Transparency and Seeing forecasts are summarized individually. But because good observing conditions require a combination of minimum cloud cover, transparency and seeing, the individual forecast summaries can be difficult to interpret. The observing conditions section counts the combinations of conditions needed for common types of astronomical observation.

Observing Conditions

The following tables count the occurrence of the combinations of forecast and darkness conditions needed for different observations. Conditions are rated by by what percentage of the hours the observation would likely be attempted are usable.

Observation Type	Minimum conditions for hour to be usable				Out of hours
	Clear of Clouds	Transparency	Seeing	Sky Brightness
Planetary:	50%	(no limit)	Average	(no limit)	Nighttime Hours
Deep Sky:	70%	Average	(no limit)	5.9	Nighttime Hours
CCD Imaging:	70%	Below Average	Poor	(no limit)	Nighttime Hours

Percentages are of nighttime hours per month, or per year, when a particular observing conditions was met. Deep Sky percentages never exceed 50% because the moon is up half the time. Deep sky percentages are much lower for charts at high latitudes because of fewer dark hours in the summer.

Overall

By Month

Individual Forecasts

The length of each colored bar in the "occurrence of each Forecast" column is proportional to the number of times the chart forecast that color. The percentages are of the total number of hours per month, or per year, with a particular forecast. The colors as the same as those used in clear sky charts.

Note: Transparency probabilities are only counted for those hours that have 30% or less cloud cover. Seeing probabilities are only counted for those hours that have 80% or less cloud cover. If that's too tricky, try Observing Conditions instead.

Overall

		Occurrence of each Forecast	Data Points
Cloud Cover	Day	2 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 4 5% 78%	113563
	Night	2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 5% 78%	114392
Transparency	Day	10% 2 3 11% 26% 47%	113327
	Night	10% 2 3 10% 25% 49%	114218
Seeing	Day	3 4 16% 32% 33% 12%	15849
	Night	2 3 16% 43% 33% 4	26197

By Month

Percentage Cloud Cover SW (2006-)
Color Meanings: Overcast 90% covered 80% covered 70% covered 60% covered 50% covered 40% covered 30% covered 20% covered 10% covered Clear
Month	Days in Month		Occurrence of each Forecast	Data Points
January	1st to 10th	Day	2 2 1 3 2 2 3 3 4 5% 73%	4098
	11th to 20th	Day	2 1 1 3 2 2 2 2 3 4 78%	4100
	21st to end	Day	4 2 1 4 3 3 4 4 5% 7% 65%	4852
February	1st to 10th	Day	3 3 1 2 2 2 2 3 5% 5% 72%	2000
	11th to 20th	Day	3 2 1 3 2 3 3 2 4 7% 69%	1950
	21st to end	Day	2 2 1 3 2 3 3 3 5% 5% 71%	1650
March	1st to 10th	Day	2 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 5% 9% 72%	3322
	11th to 20th	Day	2 2 1 2 2 3 3 2 4 6% 72%	3502
	21st to end	Day	1 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 5% 77%	3825
April	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 4 7% 77%	2136
	11th to 20th	Day	1 2 2 1 1 1 2 3 4 82%	2249
	21st to end	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 4 86%	2375
May	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 89%	4110
	11th to 20th	Day	2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 88%	4071
	21st to end	Day	1 1 1 1 1 2 94%	4477
June	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 4 85%	2470
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 91%	2470
	21st to end	Day	1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 2 3 83%	2470
July	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 83%	4110
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 5% 8% 72%	4110
	21st to end	Day	2 2 1 3 3 3 2 3 5% 8% 68%	4454
August	1st to 10th	Day	2 2 1 3 3 3 3 3 6% 9% 64%	3981
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 2 2 2 2 4 6% 79%	3724
	21st to end	Day	1 1 2 1 1 2 2 3 5% 81%	4180
September	1st to 10th	Day	3 2 1 3 2 2 3 2 4 6% 72%	2119
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 3 85%	2090
	21st to end	Day	1 1 2 2 2 1 2 2 3 84%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 86%	3490
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 1 2 3 91%	3387
	21st to end	Day	1 1 1 3 2 3 5% 83%	3438
November	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 2 2 2 3 2 3 5% 80%	1794
	11th to 20th	Day	1 2 1 3 2 1 2 2 4 5% 78%	1800
	21st to end	Day	3 3 1 3 2 2 3 3 5% 7% 70%	1800
December	1st to 10th	Day	2 2 2 2 2 2 1 3 5% 79%	2950
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 4 2 4 4 4 6% 8% 65%	3409
	21st to end	Day	3 2 1 3 2 3 4 4 6% 8% 63%	4510
January	1st to 10th	Night	1 2 1 3 2 2 3 3 5% 5% 71%	5867
	11th to 20th	Night	1 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 3 4 81%	5880
	21st to end	Night	4 3 1 4 3 2 3 3 4 8% 65%	6138
February	1st to 10th	Night	2 2 1 3 3 3 3 2 4 6% 70%	2400
	11th to 20th	Night	4 4 1 3 2 3 4 3 5% 5% 67%	2338
	21st to end	Night	2 3 1 4 2 3 4 3 4 5% 68%	1980
March	1st to 10th	Night	1 2 1 2 2 3 3 2 5% 7% 73%	3771
	11th to 20th	Night	3 3 1 3 3 2 3 3 4 6% 69%	3506
	21st to end	Night	2 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 5% 7% 71%	3828
April	1st to 10th	Night	1 2 1 2 2 1 2 2 4 6% 78%	2040
	11th to 20th	Night	1 2 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 3 85%	1879
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 2 1 2 5% 87%	1802
May	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 1 2 2 3 90%	2860
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 1 2 4 89%	2834
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 2 94%	3110
June	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 5% 85%	1710
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 2 3 90%	1710
	21st to end	Night	2 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 3 83%	1710
July	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 2 2 3 4 85%	2860
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 2 2 3 4 9% 77%	2860
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 4 10% 74%	3109
August	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 9% 74%	2957
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 1 2 2 2 4 6% 80%	3126
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 1 3 4 84%	3498
September	1st to 10th	Night	2 2 3 2 2 3 2 3 5% 76%	2061
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 87%	2090
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 3 85%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Night	2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 4 86%	3490
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 90%	3547
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 2 2 3 5% 85%	4120
November	1st to 10th	Night	1 2 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 5% 80%	2502
	11th to 20th	Night	1 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 5% 77%	2600
	21st to end	Night	3 3 1 3 3 3 2 3 4 7% 70%	2600
December	1st to 10th	Night	2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 79%	4240
	11th to 20th	Night	2 3 1 4 2 3 3 3 4 7% 68%	4811
	21st to end	Night	3 2 1 3 2 3 2 2 4 6% 72%	6468

Transparency (when cloud cover <= 30%)
Color Meanings: Too cloudy to forecast Poor Below Average Average Above average Transparent
Month	Days in Month		Occurrence of each Forecast	Data Points
January	1st to 10th	Day	14% 3 3 9% 31% 40%	4099
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 3 3 14% 26% 43%	4100
	21st to end	Day	19% 4 5% 12% 30% 30%	4852
February	1st to 10th	Day	15% 2 4 12% 26% 41%	2000
	11th to 20th	Day	17% 2 4 14% 28% 35%	1960
	21st to end	Day	15% 3 5% 13% 26% 37%	1650
March	1st to 10th	Day	10% 2 3 12% 39% 34%	3322
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 3 5% 14% 39% 28%	3502
	21st to end	Day	11% 3 3 14% 39% 30%	3825
April	1st to 10th	Day	10% 1 3 11% 30% 45%	2136
	11th to 20th	Day	7% 2 2 7% 24% 59%	2252
	21st to end	Day	5% 1 2 6% 27% 58%	2375
May	1st to 10th	Day	4 1 2 8% 25% 61%	4110
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 1 2 4 18% 69%	4074
	21st to end	Day	2 1 3 17% 77%	4477
June	1st to 10th	Day	6% 1 2 4 21% 65%	2470
	11th to 20th	Day	4 1 1 2 12% 80%	2470
	21st to end	Day	9% 2 2 5% 14% 68%	2470
July	1st to 10th	Day	7% 2 3 5% 12% 71%	4046
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 3 4 17% 37% 28%	4041
	21st to end	Day	15% 4 6% 22% 23% 30%	4314
August	1st to 10th	Day	17% 3 8% 23% 27% 21%	3967
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 3 5% 14% 39% 32%	3760
	21st to end	Day	8% 2 3 11% 24% 51%	4179
September	1st to 10th	Day	15% 4 5% 13% 23% 41%	2119
	11th to 20th	Day	7% 1 3 7% 23% 59%	2090
	21st to end	Day	8% 2 3 8% 20% 60%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Day	6% 2 2 6% 18% 66%	3490
	11th to 20th	Day	3 1 1 10% 22% 63%	3387
	21st to end	Day	7% 1 2 6% 17% 67%	3438
November	1st to 10th	Day	9% 2 3 10% 27% 50%	1794
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 2 3 11% 21% 52%	1800
	21st to end	Day	15% 3 3 13% 25% 41%	1800
December	1st to 10th	Day	11% 1 3 9% 30% 46%	2950
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 3 5% 16% 30% 30%	3408
	21st to end	Day	17% 4 6% 24% 33% 17%	4510
January	1st to 10th	Night	14% 2 3 8% 31% 41%	5867
	11th to 20th	Night	10% 2 3 13% 26% 46%	5880
	21st to end	Night	19% 3 5% 11% 26% 36%	6138
February	1st to 10th	Night	16% 2 3 13% 22% 44%	2400
	11th to 20th	Night	20% 3 4 12% 24% 38%	2339
	21st to end	Night	19% 2 5% 10% 22% 42%	1980
March	1st to 10th	Night	11% 3 4 13% 35% 33%	3771
	11th to 20th	Night	15% 3 4 12% 34% 32%	3506
	21st to end	Night	12% 3 5% 13% 36% 30%	3828
April	1st to 10th	Night	10% 2 3 10% 30% 45%	2040
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 1 2 7% 24% 57%	1879
	21st to end	Night	5% 1 2 8% 24% 60%	1802
May	1st to 10th	Night	3 1 2 6% 20% 68%	2860
	11th to 20th	Night	3 1 2 5% 17% 73%	2835
	21st to end	Night	3 1 3 18% 76%	3110
June	1st to 10th	Night	6% 1 2 4 20% 67%	1710
	11th to 20th	Night	3 1 3 13% 80%	1710
	21st to end	Night	9% 1 3 3 10% 73%	1710
July	1st to 10th	Night	5% 2 2 5% 14% 72%	2815
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 2 3 13% 40% 35%	2806
	21st to end	Night	8% 3 5% 21% 32% 31%	3011
August	1st to 10th	Night	10% 2 5% 26% 31% 26%	2948
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 2 5% 12% 27% 46%	3156
	21st to end	Night	7% 2 3 8% 27% 53%	3498
September	1st to 10th	Night	12% 3 5% 13% 26% 42%	2061
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 1 1 7% 22% 61%	2090
	21st to end	Night	6% 2 3 8% 20% 61%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Night	6% 1 2 6% 16% 68%	3490
	11th to 20th	Night	4 1 1 10% 21% 62%	3547
	21st to end	Night	5% 1 2 4 14% 74%	4120
November	1st to 10th	Night	9% 2 3 9% 23% 54%	2502
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 1 3 9% 21% 54%	2600
	21st to end	Night	17% 2 3 11% 25% 43%	2600
December	1st to 10th	Night	12% 2 2 8% 19% 58%	4240
	11th to 20th	Night	18% 2 4 11% 24% 41%	4811
	21st to end	Night	15% 3 4 17% 38% 23%	6468

Seeing (when cloud cover <= 80%)
Color Meanings: Too cloudy to forecast Bad 1/5 Poor 2/5 Average 3/5 Good 4/5 Excellent 5/5
Month	Days in Month		Occurrence of each Forecast	Data Points
January	1st to 10th	Day	5% 7% 25% 40% 21% 2	300
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 7% 20% 37% 28% 1	300
	21st to end	Day	4 7% 24% 37% 23% 5%	477
February	1st to 10th	Day	5% 8% 22% 33% 25% 8%	500
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 9% 27% 36% 21% 2	495
	21st to end	Day	6% 11% 26% 37% 17% 4	414
March	1st to 10th	Day	5% 9% 26% 35% 21% 5%	500
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 7% 20% 28% 28% 12%	465
	21st to end	Day	4 11% 30% 31% 19% 6%	506
April	1st to 10th	Day	2 6% 21% 31% 28% 13%	460
	11th to 20th	Day	2 9% 27% 30% 26% 8%	452
	21st to end	Day	2 8% 17% 32% 28% 13%	460
May	1st to 10th	Day	2 3 19% 33% 31% 12%	463
	11th to 20th	Day	1 4 18% 33% 36% 9%	488
	21st to end	Day	1 6% 16% 33% 36% 8%	529
June	1st to 10th	Day	1 2 10% 34% 40% 12%	490
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 13% 31% 38% 15%	490
	21st to end	Day	1 1 7% 34% 42% 16%	490
July	1st to 10th	Day	1 6% 30% 42% 22%	486
	11th to 20th	Day	1 2 31% 46% 19%	484
	21st to end	Day	2 1 4 28% 45% 19%	531
August	1st to 10th	Day	2 3 29% 47% 18%	487
	11th to 20th	Day	2 1 3 22% 48% 24%	477
	21st to end	Day	2 4 27% 40% 26%	539
September	1st to 10th	Day	5% 1 9% 29% 39% 17%	490
	11th to 20th	Day	2 1 8% 26% 41% 22%	490
	21st to end	Day	1 1 11% 26% 41% 19%	490
October	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 11% 29% 43% 14%	490
	11th to 20th	Day	2 1 15% 31% 40% 11%	446
	21st to end	Day	1 4 13% 26% 40% 16%	330
November	1st to 10th	Day	2 7% 16% 34% 33% 8%	300
	11th to 20th	Day	1 5% 21% 40% 26% 7%	300
	21st to end	Day	4 5% 25% 37% 21% 7%	300
December	1st to 10th	Day	4 3 20% 42% 28% 3	300
	11th to 20th	Day	1 3 21% 45% 27% 3	300
	21st to end	Day	6% 3 25% 43% 20% 3	330
January	1st to 10th	Night	3 2 20% 49% 24% 2	800
	11th to 20th	Night	3 3 18% 47% 27% 2	800
	21st to end	Night	7% 3 23% 44% 22% 2	880
February	1st to 10th	Night	2 4 19% 46% 24% 5%	800
	11th to 20th	Night	4 4 24% 46% 19% 2	784
	21st to end	Night	3 6% 27% 48% 15% 2	660
March	1st to 10th	Night	4 5% 27% 45% 18% 2	800
	11th to 20th	Night	4 4 20% 39% 27% 5%	766
	21st to end	Night	2 7% 25% 40% 23% 3	836
April	1st to 10th	Night	2 5% 22% 44% 24% 2	760
	11th to 20th	Night	2 5% 26% 41% 24% 2	751
	21st to end	Night	1 6% 22% 42% 27% 2	662
May	1st to 10th	Night	1 5% 23% 42% 27% 2	570
	11th to 20th	Night	1 3 21% 43% 31% 2	561
	21st to end	Night	1 4 19% 48% 25% 2	617
June	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 14% 51% 31% 1	570
	11th to 20th	Night	1 13% 49% 34% 2	570
	21st to end	Night	2 1 7% 44% 44% 2	570
July	1st to 10th	Night	6% 47% 42% 4	555
	11th to 20th	Night	2 5% 38% 51% 3	552
	21st to end	Night	1 4 37% 54% 4	624
August	1st to 10th	Night	1 5% 35% 54% 4	625
	11th to 20th	Night	2 3 31% 57% 7%	752
	21st to end	Night	3 4 34% 50% 8%	836
September	1st to 10th	Night	2 1 7% 33% 50% 7%	760
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 6% 35% 50% 7%	760
	21st to end	Night	1 11% 41% 41% 6%	760
October	1st to 10th	Night	3 3 14% 39% 38% 3	760
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 13% 42% 38% 4	760
	21st to end	Night	1 3 13% 39% 36% 8%	836
November	1st to 10th	Night	2 2 16% 43% 33% 5%	780
	11th to 20th	Night	2 2 13% 44% 33% 7%	800
	21st to end	Night	4 3 19% 45% 26% 4	800
December	1st to 10th	Night	4 2 18% 50% 26% 1	800
	11th to 20th	Night	4 2 17% 52% 23% 2	800
	21st to end	Night	5% 2 21% 49% 21% 3	880

Page generated at 2025-03-09 06:08:43. Version ac07

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