Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
Clear Sky Chart
History

This sumarizes the distribution of each different forecast outcome for the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center clear sky chart from 2005-11-06 to 2024-10-25.

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	5% 5% 2 4 3 3 3 3 5% 7% 60%	100791
	Night	7% 9% 3 5% 3 3 3 3 5% 7% 52%	98332
Transparency	Day	21% 5% 10% 18% 24% 21%	100564
	Night	29% 7% 9% 15% 20% 19%	98150
Seeing	Day	7% 6% 23% 38% 21% 6%	15759
	Night	10% 2 10% 30% 36% 11%	26117

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	8% 4 1 4 3 2 2 3 4 6% 62%	2858
	11th to 20th	Day	7% 5% 2 5% 3 3 3 3 4 8% 56%	3080
	21st to end	Day	12% 5% 2 5% 4 3 3 3 6% 8% 49%	3498
February	1st to 10th	Day	9% 5% 2 5% 3 3 3 4 4 5% 57%	1900
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 6% 2 4 4 3 3 4 5% 8% 54%	1850
	21st to end	Day	9% 6% 2 6% 5% 4 4 4 6% 7% 48%	1570
March	1st to 10th	Day	8% 5% 2 4 3 3 4 5% 10% 13% 43%	3138
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 4 1 4 3 3 3 3 5% 8% 61%	3324
	21st to end	Day	12% 5% 2 5% 3 3 3 4 5% 8% 51%	4037
April	1st to 10th	Day	7% 6% 2 5% 3 3 3 3 6% 7% 55%	2280
	11th to 20th	Day	4 5% 1 4 2 3 4 3 5% 7% 61%	2249
	21st to end	Day	6% 5% 2 4 3 2 2 3 5% 9% 60%	2280
May	1st to 10th	Day	5% 5% 2 4 2 2 2 2 4 6% 66%	3953
	11th to 20th	Day	4 8% 2 5% 3 2 3 2 4 7% 59%	4071
	21st to end	Day	5% 8% 2 5% 3 3 2 2 5% 8% 56%	4477
June	1st to 10th	Day	6% 9% 2 4 3 2 2 3 5% 8% 56%	2470
	11th to 20th	Day	4 7% 1 4 2 2 2 2 4 7% 64%	2470
	21st to end	Day	3 7% 2 5% 2 2 2 2 4 7% 63%	2470
July	1st to 10th	Day	2 5% 3 4 3 2 2 2 4 6% 68%	4110
	11th to 20th	Day	2 5% 2 5% 3 2 3 2 4 9% 63%	4110
	21st to end	Day	2 3 1 3 2 2 2 2 4 7% 71%	4210
August	1st to 10th	Day	1 3 1 3 2 2 2 2 4 7% 73%	3783
	11th to 20th	Day	1 3 1 3 2 2 2 1 5% 7% 72%	3724
	21st to end	Day	1 4 1 4 2 2 2 2 4 6% 72%	4180
September	1st to 10th	Day	3 4 1 4 2 3 3 3 4 8% 64%	2266
	11th to 20th	Day	3 4 2 4 2 2 2 2 4 7% 67%	2090
	21st to end	Day	3 4 1 4 2 2 2 2 4 7% 69%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Day	4 4 2 4 3 2 4 2 5% 6% 63%	2090
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 4 2 5% 2 3 3 2 4 7% 64%	2090
	21st to end	Day	3 4 2 3 1 1 2 2 4 7% 71%	1954
November	1st to 10th	Day	4 4 2 4 3 2 2 3 4 8% 63%	1674
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 4 1 4 3 2 3 3 4 7% 65%	1710
	21st to end	Day	6% 5% 1 3 3 2 4 4 5% 7% 60%	1710
December	1st to 10th	Day	6% 5% 2 4 3 4 4 4 5% 9% 54%	1710
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 5% 2 6% 4 4 4 4 6% 8% 45%	2169
	21st to end	Day	10% 6% 2 6% 5% 6% 5% 4 7% 8% 40%	3146
January	1st to 10th	Night	7% 5% 2 4 2 3 3 3 4 5% 63%	4097
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 7% 2 5% 3 3 4 3 5% 8% 50%	3893
	21st to end	Night	14% 7% 2 6% 3 3 3 3 5% 6% 47%	4180
February	1st to 10th	Night	8% 6% 2 5% 4 3 3 3 4 6% 56%	2280
	11th to 20th	Night	10% 8% 2 4 3 4 3 3 4 5% 52%	2218
	21st to end	Night	10% 7% 3 6% 3 4 4 4 5% 6% 49%	1884
March	1st to 10th	Night	14% 11% 3 6% 4 3 4 3 5% 8% 40%	3736
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 8% 2 5% 3 3 4 3 5% 7% 51%	3655
	21st to end	Night	11% 11% 2 6% 4 3 4 4 6% 7% 42%	3599
April	1st to 10th	Night	10% 10% 2 5% 3 3 3 3 5% 8% 46%	1900
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 11% 2 5% 3 3 2 2 3 6% 52%	1879
	21st to end	Night	10% 13% 3 6% 4 3 3 2 4 6% 46%	1900
May	1st to 10th	Night	6% 12% 2 6% 3 2 2 2 4 7% 54%	3020
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 25% 3 7% 3 3 2 2 3 5% 37%	2834
	21st to end	Night	11% 21% 3 6% 3 3 2 2 4 6% 40%	3110
June	1st to 10th	Night	9% 19% 6% 7% 4 3 3 3 6% 9% 31%	1710
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 15% 4 7% 3 2 2 3 5% 9% 44%	1710
	21st to end	Night	5% 15% 4 6% 4 3 2 3 5% 8% 45%	1710
July	1st to 10th	Night	3 10% 4 5% 3 3 2 2 5% 8% 54%	2860
	11th to 20th	Night	1 11% 4 5% 3 3 3 3 5% 8% 55%	2860
	21st to end	Night	3 7% 2 6% 3 2 2 2 4 7% 61%	3356
August	1st to 10th	Night	2 6% 2 4 2 2 3 2 5% 10% 62%	3166
	11th to 20th	Night	1 8% 3 4 2 2 2 2 4 9% 62%	3126
	21st to end	Night	2 7% 2 3 2 2 2 3 4 9% 64%	3498
September	1st to 10th	Night	4 8% 3 6% 3 3 3 3 4 8% 55%	1914
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 7% 2 4 2 2 3 2 4 7% 62%	2090
	21st to end	Night	4 9% 3 4 3 2 2 3 4 7% 59%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Night	5% 6% 2 6% 4 3 4 2 5% 9% 55%	2090
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 7% 3 5% 3 2 3 2 4 7% 58%	2090
	21st to end	Night	5% 7% 2 4 2 2 2 3 4 6% 63%	2500
November	1st to 10th	Night	5% 7% 2 5% 3 1 3 3 4 6% 61%	2405
	11th to 20th	Night	4 6% 2 4 3 2 3 3 4 5% 64%	2470
	21st to end	Night	6% 6% 2 5% 4 3 4 4 5% 7% 54%	2470
December	1st to 10th	Night	9% 7% 2 5% 4 3 3 4 5% 7% 52%	2470
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 8% 3 6% 3 3 4 4 5% 7% 45%	3041
	21st to end	Night	10% 7% 3 7% 5% 4 5% 4 6% 7% 42%	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% 6% 8% 21% 22% 21%	2859
	11th to 20th	Day	25% 8% 14% 24% 15% 15%	3080
	21st to end	Day	31% 6% 9% 13% 24% 16%	3498
February	1st to 10th	Day	28% 4 8% 14% 19% 26%	1900
	11th to 20th	Day	28% 6% 9% 15% 24% 19%	1860
	21st to end	Day	33% 7% 9% 13% 21% 17%	1570
March	1st to 10th	Day	23% 10% 15% 26% 14% 12%	3138
	11th to 20th	Day	18% 8% 14% 31% 19% 10%	3324
	21st to end	Day	29% 8% 13% 31% 12% 8%	4037
April	1st to 10th	Day	27% 6% 12% 23% 23% 10%	2280
	11th to 20th	Day	21% 6% 10% 18% 27% 18%	2252
	21st to end	Day	21% 5% 12% 25% 25% 12%	2280
May	1st to 10th	Day	18% 6% 10% 19% 38% 8%	3953
	11th to 20th	Day	21% 7% 13% 21% 30% 8%	4074
	21st to end	Day	21% 7% 14% 20% 34% 4	4477
June	1st to 10th	Day	26% 7% 12% 21% 21% 13%	2470
	11th to 20th	Day	19% 4 10% 14% 27% 27%	2470
	21st to end	Day	22% 3 9% 10% 21% 35%	2470
July	1st to 10th	Day	16% 2 7% 7% 15% 52%	4046
	11th to 20th	Day	19% 4 9% 15% 33% 21%	4041
	21st to end	Day	13% 4 9% 27% 20% 26%	4078
August	1st to 10th	Day	12% 3 8% 24% 35% 17%	3770
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 3 9% 13% 28% 35%	3760
	21st to end	Day	13% 2 6% 10% 30% 39%	4179
September	1st to 10th	Day	18% 5% 7% 14% 28% 28%	2266
	11th to 20th	Day	17% 3 8% 11% 31% 30%	2090
	21st to end	Day	15% 5% 8% 14% 29% 29%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Day	21% 3 8% 16% 23% 29%	2090
	11th to 20th	Day	22% 4 7% 13% 24% 30%	2090
	21st to end	Day	15% 4 7% 14% 23% 38%	1954
November	1st to 10th	Day	20% 4 9% 18% 17% 32%	1674
	11th to 20th	Day	20% 4 8% 15% 18% 35%	1710
	21st to end	Day	23% 5% 9% 14% 20% 29%	1710
December	1st to 10th	Day	27% 5% 11% 15% 17% 25%	1710
	11th to 20th	Day	34% 8% 11% 13% 18% 15%	2168
	21st to end	Day	34% 10% 12% 19% 13% 12%	3146
January	1st to 10th	Night	22% 7% 8% 16% 28% 19%	4097
	11th to 20th	Night	29% 9% 12% 21% 13% 15%	3893
	21st to end	Night	35% 8% 9% 10% 20% 18%	4180
February	1st to 10th	Night	29% 5% 9% 13% 19% 26%	2280
	11th to 20th	Night	34% 5% 7% 13% 20% 21%	2219
	21st to end	Night	35% 6% 7% 13% 23% 16%	1884
March	1st to 10th	Night	35% 11% 13% 16% 14% 11%	3736
	11th to 20th	Night	28% 9% 11% 26% 16% 10%	3655
	21st to end	Night	31% 13% 14% 23% 12% 7%	3599
April	1st to 10th	Night	34% 7% 10% 20% 18% 11%	1900
	11th to 20th	Night	33% 6% 9% 15% 22% 15%	1879
	21st to end	Night	38% 6% 11% 15% 19% 11%	1900
May	1st to 10th	Night	30% 7% 11% 16% 29% 8%	3020
	11th to 20th	Night	48% 9% 10% 12% 14% 7%	2835
	21st to end	Night	44% 9% 11% 14% 19% 4	3110
June	1st to 10th	Night	47% 8% 12% 11% 14% 9%	1710
	11th to 20th	Night	36% 4 11% 12% 19% 18%	1710
	21st to end	Night	35% 3 10% 11% 13% 28%	1710
July	1st to 10th	Night	25% 3 9% 7% 11% 46%	2815
	11th to 20th	Night	25% 4 9% 14% 34% 14%	2806
	21st to end	Night	23% 5% 8% 24% 23% 18%	3251
August	1st to 10th	Night	17% 4 10% 24% 34% 12%	3156
	11th to 20th	Night	20% 3 10% 14% 24% 30%	3156
	21st to end	Night	18% 3 7% 9% 29% 34%	3498
September	1st to 10th	Night	27% 5% 8% 11% 22% 27%	1914
	11th to 20th	Night	24% 4 6% 8% 31% 26%	2090
	21st to end	Night	25% 4 5% 12% 32% 22%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Night	26% 6% 8% 15% 19% 26%	2090
	11th to 20th	Night	26% 5% 9% 13% 19% 29%	2090
	21st to end	Night	24% 3 5% 12% 20% 36%	2500
November	1st to 10th	Night	23% 4 9% 15% 16% 32%	2405
	11th to 20th	Night	23% 4 6% 13% 17% 37%	2470
	21st to end	Night	28% 6% 7% 15% 16% 27%	2470
December	1st to 10th	Night	30% 6% 8% 16% 15% 25%	2470
	11th to 20th	Night	36% 7% 9% 14% 19% 15%	3041
	21st to end	Night	33% 14% 14% 17% 10% 13%	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	17% 4 14% 41% 20% 3	270
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 5% 23% 38% 17% 5%	399
	21st to end	Day	10% 10% 27% 33% 16% 4	506
February	1st to 10th	Day	12% 7% 27% 32% 17% 5%	460
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 11% 33% 32% 14% 2	455
	21st to end	Day	10% 14% 36% 26% 12% 1	382
March	1st to 10th	Day	11% 10% 35% 30% 12% 2	460
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 10% 32% 33% 12% 2	460
	21st to end	Day	8% 14% 35% 33% 8% 2	506
April	1st to 10th	Day	9% 9% 34% 30% 14% 4	460
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 11% 37% 33% 11% 3	452
	21st to end	Day	7% 9% 31% 31% 17% 5%	460
May	1st to 10th	Day	11% 9% 28% 36% 13% 3	463
	11th to 20th	Day	10% 8% 28% 34% 17% 3	488
	21st to end	Day	10% 10% 27% 36% 14% 2	529
June	1st to 10th	Day	6% 4 23% 39% 24% 4	490
	11th to 20th	Day	4 2 23% 46% 20% 5%	490
	21st to end	Day	6% 2 16% 44% 25% 6%	490
July	1st to 10th	Day	5% 1 9% 45% 31% 8%	486
	11th to 20th	Day	4 7% 43% 35% 12%	484
	21st to end	Day	5% 5% 42% 36% 12%	531
August	1st to 10th	Day	2 10% 45% 31% 11%	487
	11th to 20th	Day	4 1 8% 45% 31% 12%	477
	21st to end	Day	5% 11% 41% 35% 8%	539
September	1st to 10th	Day	7% 16% 44% 27% 6%	490
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 3 22% 43% 21% 4	490
	21st to end	Day	4 4 22% 40% 24% 6%	490
October	1st to 10th	Day	4 4 28% 40% 18% 5%	490
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 4 28% 36% 20% 5%	490
	21st to end	Day	7% 3 21% 38% 23% 9%	438
November	1st to 10th	Day	6% 6% 17% 37% 25% 9%	270
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 3 19% 37% 31% 5%	270
	21st to end	Day	7% 7% 20% 35% 22% 8%	270
December	1st to 10th	Day	11% 2 18% 39% 25% 5%	270
	11th to 20th	Day	4 5% 20% 37% 27% 6%	270
	21st to end	Day	16% 9% 19% 34% 15% 6%	297
January	1st to 10th	Night	10% 4 12% 38% 26% 10%	760
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 4 9% 40% 31% 8%	760
	21st to end	Night	14% 2 13% 37% 28% 5%	836
February	1st to 10th	Night	9% 3 12% 34% 32% 9%	760
	11th to 20th	Night	12% 5% 14% 38% 25% 6%	744
	21st to end	Night	12% 3 14% 42% 24% 4	628
March	1st to 10th	Night	11% 4 15% 40% 25% 4	760
	11th to 20th	Night	12% 4 11% 35% 29% 8%	760
	21st to end	Night	11% 4 14% 37% 29% 5%	836
April	1st to 10th	Night	13% 4 12% 37% 29% 5%	760
	11th to 20th	Night	12% 4 15% 35% 26% 7%	751
	21st to end	Night	14% 5% 11% 29% 33% 8%	760
May	1st to 10th	Night	11% 5% 14% 28% 36% 7%	665
	11th to 20th	Night	14% 3 17% 28% 31% 7%	561
	21st to end	Night	16% 2 16% 28% 32% 5%	617
June	1st to 10th	Night	14% 1 16% 27% 34% 8%	570
	11th to 20th	Night	10% 1 10% 28% 45% 7%	570
	21st to end	Night	10% 1 8% 25% 47% 9%	570
July	1st to 10th	Night	9% 1 6% 17% 51% 16%	555
	11th to 20th	Night	3 4 14% 56% 24%	552
	21st to end	Night	8% 5% 13% 48% 26%	770
August	1st to 10th	Night	6% 1 3 18% 47% 25%	756
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 1 3 10% 47% 30%	752
	21st to end	Night	7% 3 11% 52% 27%	836
September	1st to 10th	Night	8% 1 6% 15% 52% 18%	760
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 1 6% 22% 50% 12%	760
	21st to end	Night	6% 2 7% 28% 44% 14%	760
October	1st to 10th	Night	6% 1 8% 32% 45% 8%	760
	11th to 20th	Night	10% 1 10% 32% 37% 10%	760
	21st to end	Night	9% 2 7% 30% 36% 16%	812
November	1st to 10th	Night	7% 2 8% 34% 37% 12%	740
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 1 8% 36% 36% 13%	760
	21st to end	Night	7% 2 11% 38% 33% 9%	760
December	1st to 10th	Night	11% 2 10% 40% 30% 7%	760
	11th to 20th	Night	13% 3 12% 39% 26% 8%	760
	21st to end	Night	11% 3 14% 37% 28% 8%	836

Page generated at 2024-10-22 17:21:02. Version ac07

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