The Section 8 Observatory
Clear Sky Chart
History

This sumarizes the distribution of each different forecast outcome for the The Section 8 Observatory clear sky chart from 2005-11-06 to 2024-12-02.

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	3 4 2 5% 4 4 4 4 5% 7% 58%	105018
	Night	2 3 2 4 3 3 4 4 6% 7% 61%	103324
Transparency	Day	23% 6% 9% 15% 27% 20%	104781
	Night	20% 6% 10% 18% 28% 18%	103149
Seeing	Day	9% 14% 23% 26% 21% 8%	14532
	Night	5% 7% 23% 37% 25% 3	24766

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	1 4 2 7% 4 3 4 3 5% 6% 61%	2858
	11th to 20th	Day	2 3 2 4 2 2 3 3 4 7% 68%	2860
	21st to end	Day	4 8% 3 6% 5% 3 5% 4 6% 7% 49%	3146
February	1st to 10th	Day	1 4 2 6% 3 4 3 3 4 7% 63%	1710
	11th to 20th	Day	3 5% 2 5% 3 4 3 2 4 6% 64%	1766
	21st to end	Day	2 6% 2 4 2 3 3 4 6% 7% 64%	1670
March	1st to 10th	Day	2 4 2 5% 3 3 4 4 6% 8% 59%	3444
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 10% 2 7% 4 4 5% 4 5% 7% 46%	3490
	21st to end	Day	1 4 2 4 4 4 4 4 6% 6% 61%	3825
April	1st to 10th	Day	2 2 1 4 3 3 3 3 5% 6% 66%	2237
	11th to 20th	Day	2 4 2 4 3 3 3 2 4 6% 66%	2251
	21st to end	Day	2 3 2 4 3 3 3 3 5% 6% 66%	2280
May	1st to 10th	Day	1 3 1 3 3 2 3 3 4 6% 71%	3800
	11th to 20th	Day	3 3 2 5% 5% 4 4 3 5% 5% 60%	4067
	21st to end	Day	2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 78%	4477
June	1st to 10th	Day	3 4 1 4 4 4 4 3 5% 6% 63%	2470
	11th to 20th	Day	2 2 1 3 3 2 4 3 4 5% 69%	2470
	21st to end	Day	4 5% 1 7% 5% 6% 6% 4 7% 6% 50%	2470
July	1st to 10th	Day	4 4 2 6% 5% 5% 4 4 5% 7% 55%	4110
	11th to 20th	Day	4 4 2 8% 7% 8% 8% 6% 7% 8% 39%	4110
	21st to end	Day	6% 6% 3 10% 7% 7% 8% 6% 9% 10% 29%	4454
August	1st to 10th	Day	4 4 2 7% 7% 7% 7% 6% 8% 10% 37%	4092
	11th to 20th	Day	4 4 2 7% 5% 6% 7% 5% 8% 9% 46%	3772
	21st to end	Day	5% 5% 3 8% 7% 7% 7% 6% 8% 9% 36%	4180
September	1st to 10th	Day	8% 5% 2 6% 5% 5% 5% 4 6% 8% 45%	2280
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 4 2 6% 5% 4 4 4 5% 6% 54%	2215
	21st to end	Day	3 3 1 5% 3 4 4 3 4 7% 63%	2028
October	1st to 10th	Day	3 3 1 4 3 3 3 2 4 4 69%	3170
	11th to 20th	Day	4 3 2 4 3 3 3 2 4 7% 65%	3150
	21st to end	Day	1 1 1 1 2 2 1 3 4 83%	3438
November	1st to 10th	Day	2 3 1 3 2 2 2 2 5% 7% 72%	1959
	11th to 20th	Day	2 2 1 3 2 3 3 2 4 6% 71%	2000
	21st to end	Day	2 5% 2 4 3 4 4 3 5% 5% 64%	1912
December	1st to 10th	Day	3 3 2 4 2 2 2 3 5% 6% 66%	1542
	11th to 20th	Day	3 7% 3 7% 4 5% 4 3 4 6% 55%	2169
	21st to end	Day	2 4 1 5% 4 3 5% 4 6% 6% 60%	3146
January	1st to 10th	Night	1 4 3 8% 4 4 4 3 5% 7% 58%	4097
	11th to 20th	Night	2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 5% 6% 73%	4110
	21st to end	Night	3 7% 3 7% 5% 4 6% 4 6% 7% 49%	4521
February	1st to 10th	Night	1 4 2 4 2 2 3 3 5% 8% 66%	2470
	11th to 20th	Night	3 4 2 4 3 3 3 3 5% 6% 63%	2300
	21st to end	Night	2 3 1 3 3 3 2 3 5% 7% 68%	1780
March	1st to 10th	Night	1 2 2 4 3 2 3 3 4 6% 71%	3430
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 9% 2 5% 4 3 4 3 4 6% 54%	3490
	21st to end	Night	1 3 1 3 2 3 4 3 6% 8% 66%	3828
April	1st to 10th	Night	1 2 1 2 3 2 3 3 5% 7% 70%	1943
	11th to 20th	Night	2 3 1 3 3 2 3 3 3 5% 72%	1877
	21st to end	Night	1 2 1 3 2 2 3 2 4 6% 72%	1900
May	1st to 10th	Night	2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 79%	3157
	11th to 20th	Night	3 3 1 3 4 3 3 3 5% 7% 65%	2834
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 4 84%	3110
June	1st to 10th	Night	3 4 1 3 3 2 3 4 5% 7% 64%	1710
	11th to 20th	Night	2 2 1 2 2 2 3 3 5% 6% 71%	1710
	21st to end	Night	3 4 2 5% 5% 4 5% 5% 8% 8% 51%	1710
July	1st to 10th	Night	3 2 1 5% 5% 5% 5% 4 6% 8% 56%	2860
	11th to 20th	Night	2 5% 2 6% 6% 6% 7% 7% 9% 13% 39%	2860
	21st to end	Night	4 5% 2 7% 6% 7% 7% 6% 10% 13% 34%	3109
August	1st to 10th	Night	2 3 2 6% 5% 6% 7% 7% 10% 13% 40%	2847
	11th to 20th	Night	3 5% 3 7% 6% 6% 8% 6% 8% 11% 37%	3055
	21st to end	Night	3 4 2 8% 7% 7% 8% 7% 11% 13% 30%	3487
September	1st to 10th	Night	6% 4 2 6% 6% 5% 5% 4 6% 10% 47%	1900
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 4 1 5% 4 3 3 3 5% 7% 59%	1961
	21st to end	Night	3 4 1 3 3 4 3 2 4 5% 67%	2150
October	1st to 10th	Night	3 3 2 4 3 3 4 3 5% 5% 65%	3800
	11th to 20th	Night	4 4 1 4 3 3 3 2 4 6% 65%	3778
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 2 1 2 3 2 4 5% 79%	4120
November	1st to 10th	Night	2 2 1 2 1 2 3 2 4 6% 75%	2340
	11th to 20th	Night	1 2 1 3 1 2 2 2 4 5% 77%	2400
	21st to end	Night	4 5% 1 3 3 3 3 2 4 6% 66%	2455
December	1st to 10th	Night	4 3 1 4 2 3 4 3 4 7% 65%	2663
	11th to 20th	Night	2 4 2 5% 4 4 5% 4 6% 9% 55%	3041
	21st to end	Night	2 4 2 5% 5% 3 4 3 5% 7% 61%	4521

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	22% 5% 6% 21% 35% 11%	2859
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 4 9% 28% 34% 10%	2860
	21st to end	Day	28% 6% 8% 17% 32% 9%	3146
February	1st to 10th	Day	20% 3 8% 19% 28% 23%	1710
	11th to 20th	Day	21% 3 6% 19% 30% 21%	1775
	21st to end	Day	18% 3 6% 14% 33% 26%	1670
March	1st to 10th	Day	17% 5% 8% 12% 37% 20%	3444
	11th to 20th	Day	30% 7% 10% 15% 26% 12%	3490
	21st to end	Day	19% 5% 8% 17% 39% 12%	3825
April	1st to 10th	Day	16% 3 6% 15% 37% 23%	2237
	11th to 20th	Day	20% 3 4 12% 32% 29%	2254
	21st to end	Day	18% 3 6% 16% 37% 20%	2280
May	1st to 10th	Day	12% 3 5% 10% 36% 34%	3800
	11th to 20th	Day	22% 6% 7% 10% 32% 22%	4070
	21st to end	Day	10% 3 4 7% 22% 55%	4477
June	1st to 10th	Day	21% 5% 6% 12% 26% 30%	2470
	11th to 20th	Day	15% 3 5% 8% 23% 46%	2470
	21st to end	Day	31% 6% 9% 13% 21% 19%	2470
July	1st to 10th	Day	27% 7% 9% 9% 14% 33%	4046
	11th to 20th	Day	35% 11% 14% 23% 13% 4	4041
	21st to end	Day	41% 14% 21% 17% 6% 1	4314
August	1st to 10th	Day	34% 13% 19% 19% 12% 3	4078
	11th to 20th	Day	29% 10% 13% 20% 22% 7%	3808
	21st to end	Day	38% 12% 16% 15% 16% 4	4179
September	1st to 10th	Day	35% 8% 10% 14% 22% 12%	2280
	11th to 20th	Day	28% 6% 8% 16% 24% 18%	2215
	21st to end	Day	19% 6% 7% 17% 28% 22%	2028
October	1st to 10th	Day	16% 4 5% 13% 29% 33%	3170
	11th to 20th	Day	19% 4 4 13% 37% 23%	3150
	21st to end	Day	8% 2 3 14% 35% 38%	3438
November	1st to 10th	Day	12% 3 4 21% 36% 23%	1959
	11th to 20th	Day	15% 2 6% 16% 36% 25%	2000
	21st to end	Day	21% 4 5% 15% 32% 22%	1912
December	1st to 10th	Day	18% 4 6% 23% 33% 16%	1542
	11th to 20th	Day	30% 4 9% 17% 25% 15%	2168
	21st to end	Day	21% 6% 9% 16% 26% 23%	3146
January	1st to 10th	Night	23% 6% 8% 19% 32% 12%	4097
	11th to 20th	Night	12% 4 9% 27% 40% 9%	4110
	21st to end	Night	30% 7% 9% 17% 30% 8%	4521
February	1st to 10th	Night	16% 4 10% 21% 29% 20%	2470
	11th to 20th	Night	19% 3 6% 23% 28% 20%	2301
	21st to end	Night	17% 3 4 20% 31% 24%	1780
March	1st to 10th	Night	14% 3 7% 17% 43% 16%	3430
	11th to 20th	Night	26% 6% 8% 19% 30% 11%	3490
	21st to end	Night	13% 4 9% 27% 38% 9%	3828
April	1st to 10th	Night	13% 3 5% 22% 37% 20%	1943
	11th to 20th	Night	16% 3 4 14% 36% 27%	1877
	21st to end	Night	12% 4 7% 17% 39% 21%	1900
May	1st to 10th	Night	9% 2 4 10% 50% 24%	3157
	11th to 20th	Night	16% 6% 9% 14% 36% 19%	2835
	21st to end	Night	7% 2 4 8% 22% 57%	3110
June	1st to 10th	Night	18% 4 7% 15% 27% 29%	1710
	11th to 20th	Night	13% 3 6% 11% 23% 45%	1710
	21st to end	Night	25% 9% 12% 13% 17% 23%	1710
July	1st to 10th	Night	24% 9% 11% 12% 13% 30%	2815
	11th to 20th	Night	28% 13% 20% 23% 11% 4	2806
	21st to end	Night	33% 15% 30% 18% 4 1	3011
August	1st to 10th	Night	28% 12% 27% 20% 9% 3	2838
	11th to 20th	Night	33% 14% 17% 19% 11% 7%	3084
	21st to end	Night	35% 15% 22% 15% 11% 3	3487
September	1st to 10th	Night	29% 8% 14% 16% 20% 12%	1900
	11th to 20th	Night	23% 7% 10% 17% 27% 17%	1961
	21st to end	Night	19% 5% 6% 17% 32% 21%	2150
October	1st to 10th	Night	18% 6% 7% 14% 28% 28%	3800
	11th to 20th	Night	17% 6% 6% 18% 32% 22%	3778
	21st to end	Night	10% 2 3 15% 39% 30%	4120
November	1st to 10th	Night	11% 3 4 23% 37% 22%	2340
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 3 5% 21% 34% 26%	2400
	21st to end	Night	20% 3 6% 19% 33% 19%	2455
December	1st to 10th	Night	20% 4 7% 24% 30% 17%	2663
	11th to 20th	Night	22% 6% 10% 19% 29% 13%	3041
	21st to end	Night	21% 4 9% 18% 26% 21%	4521

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	9% 18% 29% 30% 14% 1	270
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 17% 24% 27% 16% 4	270
	21st to end	Day	4 19% 27% 29% 19% 3	297
February	1st to 10th	Day	4 20% 27% 30% 14% 4	270
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 19% 29% 30% 11%	270
	21st to end	Day	15% 33% 25% 20% 5% 2	325
March	1st to 10th	Day	11% 28% 31% 20% 8% 2	460
	11th to 20th	Day	13% 25% 29% 17% 13% 2	460
	21st to end	Day	13% 33% 27% 19% 7% 1	506
April	1st to 10th	Day	8% 23% 35% 20% 10% 4	460
	11th to 20th	Day	14% 28% 31% 16% 9% 2	452
	21st to end	Day	10% 25% 33% 18% 11% 3	460
May	1st to 10th	Day	6% 23% 36% 21% 11% 3	463
	11th to 20th	Day	7% 16% 31% 25% 14% 6%	488
	21st to end	Day	6% 20% 31% 28% 12% 2	529
June	1st to 10th	Day	5% 7% 30% 31% 22% 5%	490
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 10% 24% 28% 26% 7%	490
	21st to end	Day	6% 4 27% 29% 25% 9%	490
July	1st to 10th	Day	8% 2 10% 31% 38% 10%	486
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 1 7% 26% 34% 24%	484
	21st to end	Day	8% 2 8% 19% 36% 26%	531
August	1st to 10th	Day	8% 1 11% 25% 33% 22%	487
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 1 9% 28% 34% 20%	477
	21st to end	Day	8% 3 12% 25% 34% 19%	539
September	1st to 10th	Day	11% 2 14% 27% 32% 14%	490
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 3 21% 32% 24% 12%	490
	21st to end	Day	5% 8% 20% 31% 25% 11%	428
October	1st to 10th	Day	8% 5% 24% 23% 24% 16%	300
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 8% 17% 28% 25% 11%	300
	21st to end	Day	9% 12% 16% 27% 26% 11%	330
November	1st to 10th	Day	9% 14% 22% 28% 22% 5%	300
	11th to 20th	Day	4 11% 19% 29% 29% 8%	300
	21st to end	Day	7% 20% 24% 27% 18% 4	300
December	1st to 10th	Day	9% 14% 25% 30% 20% 3	273
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 20% 26% 30% 17% 2	270
	21st to end	Day	11% 19% 28% 32% 10% 1	297
January	1st to 10th	Night	4 8% 27% 39% 18% 3	760
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 10% 27% 38% 17% 2	760
	21st to end	Night	5% 10% 29% 36% 18% 2	836
February	1st to 10th	Night	4 13% 29% 37% 15% 2	760
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 11% 38% 37% 9% 1	744
	21st to end	Night	7% 14% 39% 32% 8%	628
March	1st to 10th	Night	3 16% 35% 35% 10% 1	760
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 12% 29% 38% 14% 1	760
	21st to end	Night	4 15% 33% 37% 11% 1	836
April	1st to 10th	Night	2 13% 38% 36% 10%	613
	11th to 20th	Night	3 18% 36% 32% 10%	563
	21st to end	Night	2 14% 41% 31% 12%	570
May	1st to 10th	Night	4 8% 33% 42% 12% 1	570
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 6% 26% 43% 19% 1	561
	21st to end	Night	3 5% 31% 44% 17% 1	617
June	1st to 10th	Night	4 4 22% 48% 21% 1	570
	11th to 20th	Night	2 3 22% 51% 21% 1	570
	21st to end	Night	5% 2 15% 41% 36% 2	570
July	1st to 10th	Night	5% 1 6% 38% 44% 6%	555
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 5% 26% 55% 8%	552
	21st to end	Night	6% 1 8% 18% 58% 9%	624
August	1st to 10th	Night	5% 1 5% 19% 58% 13%	567
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 6% 26% 54% 8%	564
	21st to end	Night	5% 1 6% 25% 56% 7%	627
September	1st to 10th	Night	8% 1 6% 36% 44% 5%	570
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 1 9% 42% 39% 4	631
	21st to end	Night	6% 2 13% 37% 39% 3	760
October	1st to 10th	Night	5% 3 20% 42% 26% 3	760
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 3 18% 49% 23% 3	760
	21st to end	Night	3 7% 20% 36% 29% 5%	836
November	1st to 10th	Night	4 5% 20% 44% 24% 4	780
	11th to 20th	Night	2 6% 23% 44% 23% 3	800
	21st to end	Night	6% 9% 26% 36% 20% 4	800
December	1st to 10th	Night	6% 12% 21% 41% 18% 2	936
	11th to 20th	Night	4 11% 29% 40% 16% 1	760
	21st to end	Night	5% 11% 29% 40% 12% 2	836

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