Thomas Observatory
Clear Sky Chart
History

This sumarizes the distribution of each different forecast outcome for the Thomas Observatory clear sky chart from 2005-11-06 to 2024-11-28.

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	1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 4 5% 78%	105204
	Night	1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 4 6% 78%	103075
Transparency	Day	10% 3 5% 14% 26% 43%	104957
	Night	10% 3 6% 16% 28% 37%	102912
Seeing	Day	5% 12% 24% 31% 22% 6%	15457
	Night	3 9% 26% 36% 23% 4	25205

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	3 2 1 2 3 2 3 3 5% 6% 71%	2539
	11th to 20th	Day	3 2 1 4 3 3 4 4 7% 10% 59%	2618
	21st to end	Day	5% 3 2 4 3 3 3 3 6% 9% 59%	3403
February	1st to 10th	Day	4 2 1 3 3 3 2 2 4 6% 70%	1900
	11th to 20th	Day	2 1 1 2 2 2 2 4 6% 9% 70%	1850
	21st to end	Day	4 2 1 3 2 3 3 3 5% 5% 69%	1570
March	1st to 10th	Day	1 2 1 3 3 3 5% 4 7% 9% 64%	3138
	11th to 20th	Day	2 3 1 3 2 2 3 3 6% 8% 66%	3259
	21st to end	Day	2 1 2 2 3 3 4 6% 10% 67%	4160
April	1st to 10th	Day	2 2 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 8% 73%	2280
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 6% 79%	2249
	21st to end	Day	1 1 1 2 2 2 4 7% 80%	2280
May	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 1 2 1 3 4 86%	4034
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 3 5% 85%	4071
	21st to end	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 88%	4477
June	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 2 2 4 5% 81%	2579
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 2 1 3 4 87%	2660
	21st to end	Day	1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 88%	2660
July	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 90%	4420
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 80%	4420
	21st to end	Day	1 1 2 1 1 1 2 3 4 83%	4414
August	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 2 3 84%	3783
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 2 2 91%	3724
	21st to end	Day	1 1 1 1 1 2 2 92%	4180
September	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 2 1 2 2 2 3 4 83%	2280
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 2 2 90%	2133
	21st to end	Day	1 1 1 1 1 2 3 89%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 88%	3490
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 1 1 1 2 4 3 85%	3264
	21st to end	Day	1 1 2 2 2 2 2 4 5% 79%	3273
November	1st to 10th	Day	1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 5% 81%	1764
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 1 2 1 2 3 2 4 6% 77%	1800
	21st to end	Day	2 2 2 2 2 3 3 5% 7% 73%	1773
December	1st to 10th	Day	2 2 1 3 2 3 3 3 6% 9% 67%	1710
	11th to 20th	Day	3 4 2 4 3 4 5% 4 6% 9% 56%	2165
	21st to end	Day	6% 5% 2 5% 3 3 4 4 6% 8% 54%	2794
January	1st to 10th	Night	2 3 1 3 2 2 3 2 4 6% 71%	4406
	11th to 20th	Night	1 2 1 4 4 3 4 3 7% 11% 60%	4327
	21st to end	Night	4 4 2 4 2 3 4 4 5% 8% 60%	4268
February	1st to 10th	Night	3 2 1 3 3 3 3 3 4 7% 68%	2280
	11th to 20th	Night	2 2 1 3 2 3 2 3 3 6% 73%	2218
	21st to end	Night	3 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 5% 7% 71%	1884
March	1st to 10th	Night	1 2 1 2 3 3 3 3 5% 8% 69%	3736
	11th to 20th	Night	3 2 1 3 2 3 3 4 6% 8% 65%	3721
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 2 2 3 3 3 4 8% 72%	3488
April	1st to 10th	Night	1 2 1 2 2 2 2 3 4 7% 75%	1900
	11th to 20th	Night	1 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 5% 80%	1879
	21st to end	Night	1 1 2 1 2 2 4 6% 81%	1900
May	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 2 2 4 88%	2936
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 5% 87%	2834
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 1 1 3 92%	3110
June	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 2 1 3 5% 85%	1595
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 3 90%	1520
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 90%	1520
July	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 1 2 92%	2540
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 3 4 83%	2540
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 3 86%	3130
August	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 5% 84%	3166
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 2 92%	3126
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 93%	3498
September	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 1 2 1 1 2 3 85%	1900
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 2 2 1 2 2 89%	2047
	21st to end	Night	1 1 1 1 2 3 90%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 2 3 90%	3490
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 1 1 1 2 4 88%	3670
	21st to end	Night	1 1 2 1 1 2 2 3 4 83%	4287
November	1st to 10th	Night	1 1 2 1 1 2 2 4 6% 80%	2535
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 2 2 2 1 2 4 6% 79%	2600
	21st to end	Night	2 2 1 2 2 2 3 2 4 8% 72%	2561
December	1st to 10th	Night	3 2 1 4 3 3 2 3 4 7% 68%	2470
	11th to 20th	Night	3 3 1 3 3 3 4 4 8% 10% 59%	3041
	21st to end	Night	5% 4 2 5% 3 4 4 4 6% 8% 55%	4862

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	13% 4 9% 34% 32% 8%	2539
	11th to 20th	Day	18% 7% 17% 26% 22% 9%	2618
	21st to end	Day	22% 6% 10% 29% 24% 9%	3403
February	1st to 10th	Day	16% 4 7% 20% 31% 21%	1900
	11th to 20th	Day	13% 3 8% 20% 33% 23%	1860
	21st to end	Day	17% 3 9% 24% 31% 16%	1570
March	1st to 10th	Day	13% 6% 9% 25% 30% 18%	3138
	11th to 20th	Day	14% 6% 10% 25% 28% 17%	3259
	21st to end	Day	11% 6% 11% 24% 34% 15%	4160
April	1st to 10th	Day	12% 4 8% 21% 32% 24%	2280
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 3 6% 18% 38% 27%	2252
	21st to end	Day	6% 3 6% 20% 37% 28%	2280
May	1st to 10th	Day	5% 2 4 14% 34% 41%	4034
	11th to 20th	Day	4 1 3 11% 35% 46%	4074
	21st to end	Day	6% 1 3 9% 36% 46%	4477
June	1st to 10th	Day	7% 2 4 12% 25% 50%	2579
	11th to 20th	Day	3 1 3 7% 22% 64%	2660
	21st to end	Day	6% 1 1 4 13% 75%	2660
July	1st to 10th	Day	4 1 2 3 7% 84%	4351
	11th to 20th	Day	10% 1 2 5% 11% 71%	4345
	21st to end	Day	8% 2 2 7% 24% 57%	4274
August	1st to 10th	Day	9% 1 1 4 21% 64%	3770
	11th to 20th	Day	3 1 1 4 12% 79%	3760
	21st to end	Day	3 1 1 4 13% 77%	4179
September	1st to 10th	Day	8% 2 3 5% 14% 68%	2280
	11th to 20th	Day	3 1 2 6% 27% 60%	2133
	21st to end	Day	5% 1 2 7% 29% 57%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Day	5% 1 2 7% 21% 65%	3490
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 1 2 7% 28% 56%	3264
	21st to end	Day	10% 1 2 8% 33% 47%	3273
November	1st to 10th	Day	8% 2 5% 14% 41% 30%	1764
	11th to 20th	Day	10% 3 7% 20% 32% 29%	1800
	21st to end	Day	13% 3 8% 18% 31% 27%	1773
December	1st to 10th	Day	16% 5% 10% 23% 28% 18%	1710
	11th to 20th	Day	23% 9% 11% 20% 26% 11%	2164
	21st to end	Day	27% 8% 11% 26% 18% 9%	2794
January	1st to 10th	Night	16% 3 8% 25% 39% 9%	4406
	11th to 20th	Night	17% 5% 15% 31% 22% 10%	4327
	21st to end	Night	21% 7% 11% 28% 23% 10%	4268
February	1st to 10th	Night	18% 4 8% 19% 28% 24%	2280
	11th to 20th	Night	14% 3 6% 19% 32% 25%	2219
	21st to end	Night	14% 4 7% 25% 32% 18%	1884
March	1st to 10th	Night	11% 6% 9% 27% 28% 19%	3736
	11th to 20th	Night	13% 7% 12% 25% 28% 15%	3721
	21st to end	Night	11% 4 9% 31% 35% 10%	3488
April	1st to 10th	Night	12% 4 6% 26% 31% 20%	1900
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 3 5% 23% 36% 24%	1879
	21st to end	Night	7% 3 5% 21% 44% 19%	1900
May	1st to 10th	Night	3 2 5% 14% 43% 33%	2936
	11th to 20th	Night	4 2 3 11% 42% 39%	2835
	21st to end	Night	3 1 3 11% 45% 37%	3110
June	1st to 10th	Night	5% 2 3 15% 30% 46%	1595
	11th to 20th	Night	3 2 3 10% 21% 61%	1520
	21st to end	Night	4 1 2 4 15% 74%	1520
July	1st to 10th	Night	3 1 2 8% 85%	2500
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 1 2 4 11% 73%	2492
	21st to end	Night	7% 1 2 5% 26% 58%	3033
August	1st to 10th	Night	7% 1 2 6% 23% 62%	3156
	11th to 20th	Night	3 1 2 3 12% 79%	3156
	21st to end	Night	4 1 2 17% 76%	3498
September	1st to 10th	Night	7% 1 2 5% 19% 66%	1900
	11th to 20th	Night	4 2 2 7% 29% 57%	2047
	21st to end	Night	3 1 2 6% 30% 59%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Night	4 1 3 6% 16% 70%	3490
	11th to 20th	Night	4 1 2 6% 30% 57%	3670
	21st to end	Night	8% 1 3 6% 33% 50%	4287
November	1st to 10th	Night	8% 2 4 16% 39% 31%	2535
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 2 6% 17% 31% 34%	2600
	21st to end	Night	12% 3 7% 20% 30% 28%	2561
December	1st to 10th	Night	17% 4 8% 20% 29% 22%	2470
	11th to 20th	Night	20% 8% 13% 22% 26% 12%	3041
	21st to end	Night	24% 8% 12% 27% 21% 8%	4862

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% 11% 26% 35% 18% 2	180
	11th to 20th	Day	10% 16% 20% 25% 21% 8%	232
	21st to end	Day	10% 13% 24% 31% 18% 4	480
February	1st to 10th	Day	9% 17% 24% 30% 15% 6%	460
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 17% 29% 28% 13% 3	455
	21st to end	Day	10% 18% 32% 31% 7% 2	382
March	1st to 10th	Day	13% 22% 28% 23% 12% 1	460
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 21% 31% 25% 12% 2	460
	21st to end	Day	10% 25% 33% 25% 7%	506
April	1st to 10th	Day	10% 20% 28% 25% 14% 3	460
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 22% 31% 27% 10% 2	452
	21st to end	Day	7% 17% 31% 25% 16% 4	460
May	1st to 10th	Day	7% 20% 33% 22% 15% 3	463
	11th to 20th	Day	4 16% 26% 32% 17% 5%	488
	21st to end	Day	6% 14% 23% 31% 22% 5%	529
June	1st to 10th	Day	4 10% 25% 31% 23% 8%	490
	11th to 20th	Day	3 10% 25% 31% 26% 5%	490
	21st to end	Day	1 8% 26% 32% 24% 9%	490
July	1st to 10th	Day	1 4 21% 34% 30% 9%	486
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 15% 34% 33% 15%	484
	21st to end	Day	2 2 13% 40% 31% 12%	531
August	1st to 10th	Day	2 5% 22% 34% 28% 10%	487
	11th to 20th	Day	1 4 17% 35% 33% 10%	477
	21st to end	Day	1 3 19% 36% 32% 9%	539
September	1st to 10th	Day	1 4 20% 36% 30% 9%	490
	11th to 20th	Day	2 10% 21% 35% 28% 6%	490
	21st to end	Day	2 9% 18% 35% 31% 5%	490
October	1st to 10th	Day	3 8% 23% 30% 29% 7%	490
	11th to 20th	Day	3 9% 21% 33% 28% 6%	490
	21st to end	Day	3 9% 23% 32% 26% 8%	439
November	1st to 10th	Day	5% 12% 19% 33% 26% 6%	300
	11th to 20th	Day	2 9% 21% 36% 24% 7%	300
	21st to end	Day	4 12% 21% 35% 23% 6%	291
December	1st to 10th	Day	5% 9% 23% 38% 21% 4	270
	11th to 20th	Day	4 10% 22% 37% 21% 7%	268
	21st to end	Day	12% 16% 21% 32% 16% 4	198
January	1st to 10th	Night	6% 8% 24% 32% 23% 7%	760
	11th to 20th	Night	4 7% 25% 40% 21% 4	760
	21st to end	Night	7% 9% 26% 36% 19% 4	836
February	1st to 10th	Night	4 10% 26% 35% 21% 4	760
	11th to 20th	Night	4 11% 31% 32% 18% 4	744
	21st to end	Night	6% 11% 33% 35% 13% 3	628
March	1st to 10th	Night	4 16% 33% 30% 14% 2	760
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 15% 29% 29% 18% 4	760
	21st to end	Night	3 19% 36% 28% 12% 1	836
April	1st to 10th	Night	3 18% 35% 25% 16% 3	760
	11th to 20th	Night	4 17% 35% 30% 13% 1	751
	21st to end	Night	3 16% 35% 30% 14% 3	760
May	1st to 10th	Night	3 15% 39% 28% 12% 2	620
	11th to 20th	Night	2 13% 32% 35% 16% 1	561
	21st to end	Night	3 16% 33% 33% 15%	617
June	1st to 10th	Night	1 8% 32% 43% 14% 1	455
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 34% 41% 17% 1	380
	21st to end	Night	1 4 26% 48% 19% 1	380
July	1st to 10th	Night	1 2 21% 43% 31% 2	370
	11th to 20th	Night	2 14% 54% 29% 2	368
	21st to end	Night	2 18% 48% 31% 2	635
August	1st to 10th	Night	2 1 23% 44% 28% 3	756
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 17% 46% 30% 5%	752
	21st to end	Night	2 1 17% 40% 34% 6%	836
September	1st to 10th	Night	1 3 13% 38% 39% 6%	760
	11th to 20th	Night	4 23% 38% 31% 4	760
	21st to end	Night	1 6% 17% 36% 33% 7%	760
October	1st to 10th	Night	1 5% 22% 42% 27% 3	760
	11th to 20th	Night	1 6% 18% 40% 28% 8%	760
	21st to end	Night	2 7% 20% 31% 31% 9%	836
November	1st to 10th	Night	1 10% 20% 34% 27% 7%	780
	11th to 20th	Night	2 5% 18% 42% 27% 7%	800
	21st to end	Night	3 6% 24% 37% 25% 5%	788
December	1st to 10th	Night	5% 7% 23% 37% 24% 4	760
	11th to 20th	Night	4 8% 24% 40% 19% 4	760
	21st to end	Night	5% 9% 29% 33% 21% 4	836

Page generated at 2024-11-24 21:22:19. Version ac07

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