Prairie Skies Star Party
Clear Sky Chart
History

This sumarizes the distribution of each different forecast outcome for the Prairie Skies Star Party clear sky chart from 2005-11-06 to 2024-11-25.

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	13% 9% 3 7% 5% 4 4 4 6% 8% 37%	101431
	Night	14% 10% 3 7% 4 4 4 3 5% 6% 38%	98118
Transparency	Day	44% 6% 13% 22% 14% 2	105011
	Night	44% 6% 12% 21% 15% 2	102679
Seeing	Day	16% 10% 28% 25% 15% 6%	15823
	Night	18% 9% 30% 30% 12% 1	25674

By Month

Percentage Cloud Cover SE (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	14% 15% 8% 12% 6% 4 4 4 4 6% 25%	2527
	11th to 20th	Day	13% 16% 6% 15% 6% 6% 3 6% 7% 4 17%	2530
	21st to end	Day	20% 24% 6% 11% 5% 3 2 2 4 5% 17%	2886
February	1st to 10th	Day	18% 13% 4 9% 6% 5% 5% 3 5% 5% 26%	1776
	11th to 20th	Day	14% 11% 5% 8% 6% 5% 3 3 5% 6% 34%	1848
	21st to end	Day	17% 13% 5% 9% 5% 5% 3 3 5% 6% 29%	1570
March	1st to 10th	Day	18% 15% 4 8% 4 3 4 3 4 5% 33%	3120
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 7% 3 6% 4 5% 5% 4 6% 9% 40%	3266
	21st to end	Day	19% 12% 5% 11% 6% 5% 5% 3 6% 6% 22%	4165
April	1st to 10th	Day	16% 13% 3 8% 5% 4 4 3 4 7% 33%	2280
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 9% 3 7% 5% 4 3 4 5% 7% 37%	2254
	21st to end	Day	20% 7% 3 8% 4 4 5% 4 5% 7% 34%	2373
May	1st to 10th	Day	19% 7% 2 7% 5% 4 4 4 7% 9% 32%	4082
	11th to 20th	Day	15% 6% 2 6% 4 4 4 4 5% 8% 40%	4231
	21st to end	Day	10% 6% 2 6% 4 4 4 4 6% 9% 45%	4824
June	1st to 10th	Day	10% 5% 2 6% 5% 4 5% 4 6% 8% 45%	2660
	11th to 20th	Day	10% 5% 2 5% 5% 5% 5% 4 6% 9% 45%	2660
	21st to end	Day	11% 6% 2 7% 5% 5% 6% 5% 7% 8% 39%	2660
July	1st to 10th	Day	11% 7% 2 8% 5% 5% 6% 5% 7% 10% 34%	4440
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 4 1 5% 4 4 5% 5% 7% 10% 47%	4440
	21st to end	Day	9% 6% 2 7% 5% 6% 6% 5% 6% 9% 41%	4813
August	1st to 10th	Day	8% 5% 2 6% 4 5% 4 4 6% 10% 47%	4259
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 5% 2 6% 4 4 5% 4 7% 10% 44%	3729
	21st to end	Day	7% 4 2 6% 4 4 5% 4 6% 9% 48%	4180
September	1st to 10th	Day	10% 6% 2 5% 4 4 5% 4 6% 7% 47%	2280
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 5% 1 4 3 4 4 4 5% 7% 52%	2152
	21st to end	Day	10% 7% 2 5% 4 4 4 4 6% 9% 44%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Day	12% 7% 2 6% 4 3 4 4 5% 6% 47%	2056
	11th to 20th	Day	19% 7% 2 6% 4 5% 4 3 5% 6% 39%	1893
	21st to end	Day	20% 8% 2 8% 4 4 4 3 5% 6% 35%	1881
November	1st to 10th	Day	13% 8% 2 5% 4 3 4 3 5% 7% 46%	1762
	11th to 20th	Day	17% 10% 4 7% 5% 4 4 4 5% 6% 35%	1800
	21st to end	Day	18% 12% 4 9% 5% 3 3 3 4 6% 34%	1723
December	1st to 10th	Day	15% 15% 4 10% 5% 6% 4 3 3 5% 30%	1520
	11th to 20th	Day	14% 14% 4 10% 6% 6% 4 3 6% 6% 28%	1918
	21st to end	Day	23% 19% 9% 14% 5% 3 4 2 3 4 14%	2783
January	1st to 10th	Night	16% 15% 7% 10% 5% 4 4 3 4 4 27%	4428
	11th to 20th	Night	14% 19% 7% 13% 5% 4 5% 4 6% 4 18%	4440
	21st to end	Night	24% 17% 7% 10% 5% 3 4 2 3 5% 21%	4779
February	1st to 10th	Night	16% 15% 4 8% 5% 4 4 4 4 5% 31%	2402
	11th to 20th	Night	14% 11% 4 8% 5% 4 5% 3 6% 7% 35%	2218
	21st to end	Night	19% 12% 4 8% 4 3 4 3 4 5% 33%	1884
March	1st to 10th	Night	18% 11% 3 6% 4 3 3 3 4 6% 38%	3733
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 7% 2 7% 4 4 4 3 5% 7% 47%	3723
	21st to end	Night	21% 10% 5% 9% 6% 5% 5% 3 5% 5% 27%	3466
April	1st to 10th	Night	15% 8% 3 6% 5% 4 4 3 6% 6% 40%	1900
	11th to 20th	Night	19% 9% 2 5% 4 4 4 3 4 6% 40%	1875
	21st to end	Night	19% 8% 2 7% 5% 4 5% 4 5% 6% 36%	1805
May	1st to 10th	Night	17% 8% 3 6% 4 4 4 4 6% 8% 34%	2813
	11th to 20th	Night	15% 6% 2 6% 3 4 4 5% 7% 9% 39%	2665
	21st to end	Night	10% 6% 2 6% 5% 5% 4 4 6% 8% 44%	2743
June	1st to 10th	Night	10% 5% 2 5% 4 3 4 3 5% 8% 50%	1520
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 5% 3 5% 4 4 4 3 7% 9% 47%	1520
	21st to end	Night	10% 6% 3 6% 4 4 5% 5% 6% 9% 42%	1520
July	1st to 10th	Night	12% 5% 2 7% 4 5% 5% 5% 7% 8% 40%	2530
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 4 1 6% 3 4 5% 4 5% 7% 55%	2530
	21st to end	Night	4 5% 2 7% 5% 5% 6% 4 8% 8% 46%	2750
August	1st to 10th	Night	6% 4 2 5% 5% 4 5% 4 7% 9% 49%	2669
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 5% 1 5% 4 4 4 4 6% 8% 52%	3100
	21st to end	Night	8% 4 2 5% 4 3 4 3 5% 9% 53%	3476
September	1st to 10th	Night	10% 5% 2 4 3 4 3 3 5% 7% 54%	1900
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 4 1 4 3 3 3 4 6% 8% 55%	2009
	21st to end	Night	9% 5% 2 7% 5% 5% 5% 4 6% 8% 44%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Night	11% 5% 2 6% 4 3 4 3 4 6% 53%	2121
	11th to 20th	Night	15% 8% 2 6% 3 3 3 3 5% 6% 47%	2285
	21st to end	Night	20% 8% 3 7% 4 3 3 3 5% 6% 39%	2717
November	1st to 10th	Night	12% 8% 2 5% 3 4 3 3 5% 6% 48%	2536
	11th to 20th	Night	14% 10% 4 7% 4 5% 4 4 4 6% 38%	2600
	21st to end	Night	18% 10% 3 6% 6% 4 3 2 4 6% 37%	2548
December	1st to 10th	Night	16% 12% 4 9% 4 4 4 3 4 7% 32%	2660
	11th to 20th	Night	16% 15% 4 9% 5% 4 3 3 4 4 33%	3279
	21st to end	Night	24% 17% 6% 12% 6% 4 4 2 4 4 15%	4884

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	59% 6% 14% 14% 6%	2528
	11th to 20th	Day	66% 5% 9% 11% 9% 1	2530
	21st to end	Day	70% 4 8% 13% 4	2886
February	1st to 10th	Day	58% 7% 11% 15% 7% 2	1776
	11th to 20th	Day	51% 5% 11% 23% 8% 2	1858
	21st to end	Day	55% 6% 11% 20% 6% 2	1570
March	1st to 10th	Day	53% 6% 11% 18% 11% 1	3120
	11th to 20th	Day	39% 6% 14% 28% 12% 1	3266
	21st to end	Day	59% 9% 14% 14% 3	4165
April	1st to 10th	Day	50% 5% 12% 19% 13%	2280
	11th to 20th	Day	47% 6% 11% 21% 12% 4	2254
	21st to end	Day	49% 7% 13% 17% 12% 2	2373
May	1st to 10th	Day	46% 9% 13% 23% 10%	4120
	11th to 20th	Day	40% 8% 13% 28% 11% 1	4235
	21st to end	Day	33% 8% 13% 20% 21% 4	4837
June	1st to 10th	Day	35% 8% 13% 24% 18% 3	2660
	11th to 20th	Day	34% 7% 12% 23% 21% 3	2660
	21st to end	Day	39% 10% 14% 21% 14% 2	2660
July	1st to 10th	Day	45% 6% 13% 21% 13% 2	4371
	11th to 20th	Day	32% 4 17% 29% 16% 1	4365
	21st to end	Day	39% 5% 18% 17% 18% 3	4662
August	1st to 10th	Day	32% 6% 17% 30% 14% 1	4244
	11th to 20th	Day	34% 5% 12% 33% 15% 1	3765
	21st to end	Day	32% 6% 13% 28% 18% 3	4179
September	1st to 10th	Day	34% 7% 13% 24% 17% 4	2280
	11th to 20th	Day	30% 5% 13% 26% 22% 4	2152
	21st to end	Day	36% 6% 10% 26% 20% 2	2090
October	1st to 10th	Day	26% 4 7% 28% 33% 2	3420
	11th to 20th	Day	33% 3 11% 25% 27% 1	3121
	21st to end	Day	41% 3 9% 27% 17% 2	3081
November	1st to 10th	Day	38% 5% 15% 25% 15% 2	1762
	11th to 20th	Day	50% 5% 12% 20% 12% 1	1800
	21st to end	Day	52% 5% 11% 22% 10% 1	1723
December	1st to 10th	Day	57% 6% 12% 18% 7%	1520
	11th to 20th	Day	56% 6% 11% 20% 6% 1	1915
	21st to end	Day	76% 5% 8% 8% 4	2783
January	1st to 10th	Night	58% 7% 12% 14% 8%	4428
	11th to 20th	Night	68% 4 11% 11% 6%	4440
	21st to end	Night	67% 5% 9% 13% 5%	4779
February	1st to 10th	Night	55% 5% 11% 17% 9% 2	2402
	11th to 20th	Night	48% 6% 12% 21% 12% 1	2219
	21st to end	Night	52% 6% 10% 19% 10% 3	1884
March	1st to 10th	Night	46% 6% 12% 23% 9% 3	3733
	11th to 20th	Night	36% 6% 11% 27% 17% 2	3723
	21st to end	Night	57% 8% 11% 18% 6%	3466
April	1st to 10th	Night	44% 6% 13% 21% 13% 2	1900
	11th to 20th	Night	44% 5% 10% 20% 17% 4	1875
	21st to end	Night	46% 8% 12% 18% 13% 3	1805
May	1st to 10th	Night	45% 7% 13% 20% 12% 2	2840
	11th to 20th	Night	39% 8% 17% 25% 10% 1	2666
	21st to end	Night	35% 9% 12% 18% 20% 5%	2751
June	1st to 10th	Night	32% 7% 12% 25% 20% 4	1520
	11th to 20th	Night	32% 6% 14% 23% 22% 3	1520
	21st to end	Night	36% 9% 15% 22% 14% 4	1520
July	1st to 10th	Night	41% 5% 14% 22% 12% 5%	2490
	11th to 20th	Night	29% 4 13% 28% 25% 2	2482
	21st to end	Night	33% 5% 19% 19% 19% 5%	2662
August	1st to 10th	Night	31% 4 19% 29% 16% 1	2660
	11th to 20th	Night	30% 4 16% 28% 20% 2	3130
	21st to end	Night	29% 4 13% 32% 19% 3	3476
September	1st to 10th	Night	29% 7% 12% 25% 23% 5%	1900
	11th to 20th	Night	27% 6% 9% 27% 27% 4	2009
	21st to end	Night	36% 7% 11% 25% 18% 3	2090
October	1st to 10th	Night	21% 4 7% 33% 33% 3	3537
	11th to 20th	Night	32% 3 8% 24% 30% 2	3796
	21st to end	Night	39% 2 9% 25% 21% 4	4467
November	1st to 10th	Night	38% 5% 10% 27% 18% 3	2536
	11th to 20th	Night	47% 5% 12% 21% 13% 2	2600
	21st to end	Night	50% 5% 11% 23% 11%	2548
December	1st to 10th	Night	53% 5% 13% 19% 9% 1	2660
	11th to 20th	Night	54% 5% 11% 19% 10% 1	3281
	21st to end	Night	72% 6% 8% 10% 4	4884

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	23% 11% 35% 23% 7% 1	270
	11th to 20th	Day	27% 14% 36% 16% 6%	270
	21st to end	Day	23% 17% 29% 26% 6%	297
February	1st to 10th	Day	24% 16% 40% 14% 5%	270
	11th to 20th	Day	23% 14% 37% 22% 4	270
	21st to end	Day	26% 14% 43% 14% 3	225
March	1st to 10th	Day	21% 24% 36% 17% 2	270
	11th to 20th	Day	22% 19% 33% 19% 6%	298
	21st to end	Day	30% 13% 32% 17% 7% 1	506
April	1st to 10th	Day	22% 14% 33% 22% 7% 1	460
	11th to 20th	Day	20% 18% 30% 19% 11% 2	452
	21st to end	Day	21% 16% 33% 19% 8% 2	460
May	1st to 10th	Day	22% 11% 29% 27% 8% 3	463
	11th to 20th	Day	21% 9% 28% 24% 14% 4	572
	21st to end	Day	13% 9% 31% 22% 16% 8%	734
June	1st to 10th	Day	10% 8% 27% 29% 20% 6%	680
	11th to 20th	Day	10% 4 30% 32% 19% 5%	680
	21st to end	Day	13% 8% 32% 28% 15% 5%	680
July	1st to 10th	Day	10% 3 20% 29% 24% 15%	671
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 4 21% 32% 22% 12%	668
	21st to end	Day	9% 3 21% 34% 25% 9%	739
August	1st to 10th	Day	8% 3 15% 33% 28% 13%	595
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 4 18% 29% 24% 14%	479
	21st to end	Day	9% 2 16% 33% 28% 12%	539
September	1st to 10th	Day	13% 4 19% 29% 27% 8%	490
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 3 14% 28% 31% 12%	490
	21st to end	Day	14% 7% 26% 25% 20% 8%	490
October	1st to 10th	Day	14% 7% 30% 27% 18% 5%	456
	11th to 20th	Day	19% 20% 28% 23% 9% 1	300
	21st to end	Day	29% 13% 33% 20% 4 1	330
November	1st to 10th	Day	17% 12% 35% 22% 10% 4	300
	11th to 20th	Day	24% 14% 35% 16% 9% 1	300
	21st to end	Day	26% 10% 35% 22% 7%	282
December	1st to 10th	Day	17% 18% 38% 19% 8% 1	270
	11th to 20th	Day	20% 15% 35% 24% 6% 1	270
	21st to end	Day	25% 23% 36% 13% 3	297
January	1st to 10th	Night	20% 15% 37% 22% 5%	950
	11th to 20th	Night	23% 16% 36% 21% 4 1	950
	21st to end	Night	22% 12% 35% 26% 3	1045
February	1st to 10th	Night	26% 10% 38% 23% 3	882
	11th to 20th	Night	19% 14% 36% 27% 5%	743
	21st to end	Night	23% 14% 39% 20% 3	628
March	1st to 10th	Night	21% 15% 37% 22% 5%	760
	11th to 20th	Night	18% 11% 38% 27% 6% 1	751
	21st to end	Night	26% 10% 34% 23% 6%	627
April	1st to 10th	Night	17% 13% 39% 25% 6%	570
	11th to 20th	Night	22% 12% 34% 26% 6% 1	563
	21st to end	Night	21% 9% 35% 27% 7%	570
May	1st to 10th	Night	18% 7% 34% 32% 8%	570
	11th to 20th	Night	17% 6% 31% 34% 11% 1	561
	21st to end	Night	12% 5% 29% 36% 18% 1	617
June	1st to 10th	Night	11% 4 26% 45% 14%	570
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 4 27% 43% 14% 1	570
	21st to end	Night	11% 4 27% 41% 16% 1	570
July	1st to 10th	Night	10% 1 14% 43% 27% 5%	555
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 2 17% 43% 28% 3	552
	21st to end	Night	5% 1 17% 47% 29% 1	624
August	1st to 10th	Night	7% 1 11% 46% 32% 3	567
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 3 11% 44% 30% 4	564
	21st to end	Night	8% 1 16% 38% 33% 4	627
September	1st to 10th	Night	11% 4 16% 40% 26% 3	570
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 5% 15% 37% 31% 3	679
	21st to end	Night	11% 6% 24% 34% 22% 3	760
October	1st to 10th	Night	13% 6% 24% 37% 19% 1	760
	11th to 20th	Night	20% 12% 31% 27% 10%	760
	21st to end	Night	24% 12% 32% 24% 7%	836
November	1st to 10th	Night	16% 10% 38% 25% 9% 1	780
	11th to 20th	Night	20% 15% 35% 25% 6%	800
	21st to end	Night	22% 11% 36% 24% 6%	798
December	1st to 10th	Night	22% 14% 36% 24% 5%	950
	11th to 20th	Night	24% 11% 34% 26% 5%	950
	21st to end	Night	28% 14% 34% 22% 2	1045

Page generated at 2024-11-22 07:02:27. Version ac07

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