Hines Observatory
Clear Sky Chart
History

This sumarizes the distribution of each different forecast outcome for the Hines Observatory clear sky chart from 2005-11-06 to 2024-11-30.

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	10% 6% 2 6% 5% 5% 5% 4 7% 9% 41%	101217
	Night	11% 6% 2 6% 5% 4 5% 4 6% 8% 43%	98335
Transparency	Day	37% 8% 13% 18% 16% 7%	105035
	Night	36% 7% 12% 17% 18% 9%	102656
Seeing	Day	12% 7% 20% 24% 22% 15%	15180
	Night	12% 6% 22% 32% 24% 4	25207

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	11% 7% 2 7% 5% 4 4 3 5% 6% 45%	2836
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 7% 2 5% 3 2 3 3 6% 8% 49%	2840
	21st to end	Day	13% 7% 3 6% 4 4 4 3 4 6% 45%	3295
February	1st to 10th	Day	15% 8% 2 7% 4 4 5% 4 5% 6% 41%	1900
	11th to 20th	Day	15% 7% 2 6% 3 3 4 3 5% 6% 46%	1848
	21st to end	Day	14% 7% 2 6% 3 3 5% 3 5% 6% 45%	1570
March	1st to 10th	Day	19% 9% 3 6% 5% 4 4 3 6% 6% 35%	3332
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 4 2 5% 4 4 5% 4 6% 8% 49%	3480
	21st to end	Day	16% 6% 2 6% 4 4 4 3 5% 7% 43%	3815
April	1st to 10th	Day	9% 6% 2 5% 6% 4 5% 5% 6% 7% 46%	2090
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 5% 2 5% 4 5% 4 3 5% 8% 49%	2168
	21st to end	Day	6% 4 2 5% 4 4 5% 4 5% 7% 55%	2431
May	1st to 10th	Day	8% 4 2 5% 5% 5% 5% 4 5% 10% 48%	4082
	11th to 20th	Day	14% 7% 3 7% 5% 4 4 4 6% 8% 37%	4081
	21st to end	Day	5% 3 1 5% 5% 5% 6% 4 7% 11% 48%	4476
June	1st to 10th	Day	9% 7% 2 8% 6% 6% 6% 5% 8% 10% 32%	2470
	11th to 20th	Day	4 4 2 6% 5% 6% 7% 6% 9% 12% 39%	2470
	21st to end	Day	6% 5% 3 7% 6% 6% 8% 7% 9% 11% 32%	2470
July	1st to 10th	Day	8% 8% 3 9% 7% 8% 8% 8% 11% 12% 19%	4120
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 4 2 6% 5% 6% 7% 6% 9% 12% 38%	4120
	21st to end	Day	6% 6% 3 9% 7% 8% 8% 8% 10% 12% 23%	4466
August	1st to 10th	Day	12% 6% 2 7% 6% 6% 7% 5% 9% 12% 28%	4104
	11th to 20th	Day	6% 5% 2 5% 5% 5% 6% 5% 8% 10% 43%	3760
	21st to end	Day	7% 6% 3 8% 6% 7% 6% 6% 9% 11% 32%	4057
September	1st to 10th	Day	10% 7% 3 9% 6% 6% 6% 4 7% 10% 31%	2090
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 7% 3 7% 5% 6% 5% 4 7% 8% 36%	2090
	21st to end	Day	12% 4 3 6% 5% 4 5% 5% 6% 8% 45%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Day	11% 6% 2 6% 4 3 4 3 5% 5% 50%	2090
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 4 1 4 2 4 4 3 4 8% 57%	1970
	21st to end	Day	8% 4 2 5% 3 3 3 3 5% 6% 57%	2090
November	1st to 10th	Day	10% 5% 3 5% 4 3 3 3 5% 6% 52%	1932
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 7% 2 5% 3 3 3 3 5% 5% 55%	1800
	21st to end	Day	12% 6% 2 5% 4 4 3 3 6% 7% 47%	1797
December	1st to 10th	Day	14% 6% 2 6% 5% 5% 4 3 5% 6% 44%	1710
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 7% 2 6% 4 3 3 3 5% 6% 43%	2153
	21st to end	Day	16% 12% 3 7% 4 3 3 2 4 5% 41%	3124
January	1st to 10th	Night	13% 6% 2 7% 4 4 5% 4 5% 7% 43%	4109
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 6% 3 6% 4 5% 5% 3 6% 7% 47%	4120
	21st to end	Night	16% 9% 3 7% 4 4 4 3 5% 6% 40%	4358
February	1st to 10th	Night	13% 8% 2 6% 4 3 4 4 5% 7% 44%	2280
	11th to 20th	Night	15% 8% 2 6% 4 4 4 3 4 6% 46%	2218
	21st to end	Night	12% 6% 2 4 4 4 4 4 5% 7% 47%	1884
March	1st to 10th	Night	22% 10% 3 7% 4 3 4 2 4 5% 37%	3519
	11th to 20th	Night	10% 5% 2 5% 4 4 4 4 6% 8% 48%	3480
	21st to end	Night	15% 5% 2 5% 3 3 5% 4 6% 7% 46%	3817
April	1st to 10th	Night	10% 5% 2 6% 4 4 4 4 5% 7% 49%	2090
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 5% 2 5% 4 4 4 3 6% 7% 50%	1975
	21st to end	Night	6% 2 1 4 4 4 4 4 6% 7% 58%	1748
May	1st to 10th	Night	6% 5% 2 7% 5% 5% 4 4 6% 9% 47%	2813
	11th to 20th	Night	12% 6% 2 6% 5% 4 4 3 5% 8% 43%	2812
	21st to end	Night	5% 3 2 5% 3 4 4 3 6% 10% 54%	3079
June	1st to 10th	Night	7% 6% 2 7% 6% 6% 6% 6% 8% 11% 34%	1710
	11th to 20th	Night	4 3 2 6% 5% 5% 6% 7% 8% 12% 41%	1710
	21st to end	Night	5% 6% 2 6% 7% 6% 8% 6% 8% 10% 35%	1710
July	1st to 10th	Night	10% 10% 4 12% 7% 6% 6% 6% 8% 11% 20%	2840
	11th to 20th	Night	3 5% 2 6% 5% 5% 7% 6% 11% 14% 35%	2840
	21st to end	Night	5% 7% 3 8% 7% 7% 8% 7% 10% 12% 25%	3087
August	1st to 10th	Night	11% 5% 2 8% 6% 6% 6% 7% 8% 12% 29%	2825
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 5% 2 6% 4 5% 6% 4 8% 13% 42%	3063
	21st to end	Night	5% 5% 2 7% 5% 5% 6% 5% 8% 11% 40%	3567
September	1st to 10th	Night	10% 7% 3 8% 5% 6% 5% 5% 7% 12% 32%	2090
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 8% 3 7% 5% 5% 6% 5% 6% 8% 37%	2090
	21st to end	Night	9% 6% 2 7% 5% 4 5% 4 6% 8% 44%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Night	10% 5% 2 6% 3 4 4 3 5% 7% 51%	2090
	11th to 20th	Night	10% 5% 2 4 3 2 3 3 4 6% 59%	2209
	21st to end	Night	8% 5% 1 5% 4 4 4 3 4 6% 56%	2508
November	1st to 10th	Night	10% 6% 2 5% 4 3 3 3 5% 5% 54%	2361
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 6% 2 5% 4 3 3 3 5% 6% 53%	2600
	21st to end	Night	12% 6% 2 5% 4 3 4 3 5% 7% 50%	2599
December	1st to 10th	Night	12% 5% 3 6% 4 3 3 4 5% 8% 45%	2470
	11th to 20th	Night	14% 7% 2 6% 4 3 3 3 4 5% 49%	3042
	21st to end	Night	16% 10% 3 8% 5% 4 4 3 5% 6% 37%	4532

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	40% 4 7% 16% 22% 11%	2837
	11th to 20th	Day	33% 4 7% 18% 23% 14%	2840
	21st to end	Day	41% 4 7% 12% 22% 13%	3295
February	1st to 10th	Day	42% 5% 8% 15% 21% 9%	1900
	11th to 20th	Day	39% 3 6% 15% 26% 10%	1858
	21st to end	Day	39% 5% 7% 18% 19% 12%	1570
March	1st to 10th	Day	48% 6% 8% 17% 14% 7%	3332
	11th to 20th	Day	30% 6% 14% 14% 22% 13%	3480
	21st to end	Day	40% 5% 10% 22% 15% 8%	3815
April	1st to 10th	Day	37% 7% 9% 20% 16% 12%	2090
	11th to 20th	Day	34% 6% 7% 19% 23% 10%	2168
	21st to end	Day	28% 6% 9% 25% 25% 8%	2431
May	1st to 10th	Day	31% 8% 13% 26% 17% 4	4120
	11th to 20th	Day	43% 7% 11% 22% 15% 2	4085
	21st to end	Day	27% 9% 18% 25% 18% 2	4489
June	1st to 10th	Day	43% 11% 15% 19% 11% 1	2470
	11th to 20th	Day	34% 11% 17% 23% 15% 1	2470
	21st to end	Day	39% 14% 20% 16% 10% 2	2470
July	1st to 10th	Day	49% 18% 22% 9% 3	4055
	11th to 20th	Day	34% 15% 30% 18% 3	4051
	21st to end	Day	45% 19% 22% 11% 2	4324
August	1st to 10th	Day	44% 12% 20% 20% 4	4091
	11th to 20th	Day	31% 11% 17% 29% 12%	3797
	21st to end	Day	41% 11% 19% 24% 5% 1	4057
September	1st to 10th	Day	45% 11% 15% 16% 11% 3	2090
	11th to 20th	Day	44% 9% 12% 16% 15% 4	2090
	21st to end	Day	35% 7% 12% 20% 19% 7%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Day	40% 3 7% 10% 21% 19%	3480
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 3 5% 16% 25% 33%	3249
	21st to end	Day	19% 3 4 20% 38% 16%	3428
November	1st to 10th	Day	33% 4 8% 17% 23% 15%	1932
	11th to 20th	Day	33% 3 6% 16% 26% 16%	1800
	21st to end	Day	36% 5% 7% 19% 23% 11%	1797
December	1st to 10th	Day	40% 6% 12% 16% 17% 9%	1710
	11th to 20th	Day	41% 4 7% 16% 25% 8%	2150
	21st to end	Day	47% 3 5% 16% 23% 6%	3124
January	1st to 10th	Night	41% 4 7% 13% 21% 14%	4109
	11th to 20th	Night	36% 4 7% 15% 28% 11%	4120
	21st to end	Night	45% 5% 6% 13% 22% 8%	4358
February	1st to 10th	Night	39% 4 9% 15% 20% 12%	2280
	11th to 20th	Night	41% 3 6% 13% 21% 15%	2219
	21st to end	Night	36% 5% 7% 19% 16% 16%	1884
March	1st to 10th	Night	50% 6% 8% 14% 13% 8%	3519
	11th to 20th	Night	33% 6% 10% 18% 22% 12%	3480
	21st to end	Night	37% 5% 10% 16% 22% 10%	3817
April	1st to 10th	Night	34% 6% 10% 18% 19% 13%	2090
	11th to 20th	Night	32% 6% 10% 18% 23% 11%	1975
	21st to end	Night	25% 5% 11% 25% 24% 9%	1748
May	1st to 10th	Night	31% 10% 13% 24% 16% 6%	2840
	11th to 20th	Night	38% 8% 14% 23% 13% 3	2813
	21st to end	Night	25% 7% 16% 29% 21% 3	3087
June	1st to 10th	Night	38% 11% 19% 19% 12% 1	1710
	11th to 20th	Night	31% 13% 22% 22% 11% 1	1710
	21st to end	Night	38% 15% 20% 18% 9% 2	1710
July	1st to 10th	Night	55% 15% 18% 9% 3 1	2795
	11th to 20th	Night	32% 17% 29% 19% 3	2786
	21st to end	Night	46% 17% 22% 13% 2 1	2988
August	1st to 10th	Night	43% 13% 25% 17% 3	2814
	11th to 20th	Night	32% 13% 19% 28% 8% 1	3092
	21st to end	Night	34% 11% 25% 24% 4 1	3567
September	1st to 10th	Night	42% 12% 17% 16% 11% 2	2090
	11th to 20th	Night	42% 10% 14% 15% 15% 3	2090
	21st to end	Night	37% 7% 13% 18% 17% 7%	2090
October	1st to 10th	Night	38% 4 9% 13% 20% 16%	3480
	11th to 20th	Night	17% 2 4 14% 28% 35%	3669
	21st to end	Night	19% 3 5% 17% 36% 20%	4120
November	1st to 10th	Night	32% 4 8% 16% 24% 16%	2361
	11th to 20th	Night	33% 4 7% 14% 26% 15%	2600
	21st to end	Night	34% 4 9% 19% 21% 13%	2599
December	1st to 10th	Night	36% 5% 14% 15% 23% 7%	2470
	11th to 20th	Night	39% 3 6% 16% 26% 11%	3044
	21st to end	Night	48% 4 6% 16% 22% 4	4532

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	13% 20% 39% 21% 5% 1	270
	11th to 20th	Day	13% 16% 32% 28% 7% 3	270
	21st to end	Day	22% 17% 44% 13% 3 1	297
February	1st to 10th	Day	18% 18% 35% 21% 8%	270
	11th to 20th	Day	24% 13% 38% 19% 6%	270
	21st to end	Day	16% 18% 36% 25% 4	225
March	1st to 10th	Day	15% 11% 32% 30% 11% 1	391
	11th to 20th	Day	14% 9% 35% 30% 11% 1	460
	21st to end	Day	16% 12% 30% 28% 12% 1	506
April	1st to 10th	Day	16% 13% 27% 26% 16% 2	460
	11th to 20th	Day	13% 10% 30% 25% 17% 4	452
	21st to end	Day	9% 7% 21% 33% 23% 6%	460
May	1st to 10th	Day	6% 9% 25% 26% 24% 10%	463
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 4 18% 32% 22% 16%	487
	21st to end	Day	9% 2 12% 26% 29% 22%	529
June	1st to 10th	Day	10% 1 13% 25% 32% 19%	490
	11th to 20th	Day	7% 2 13% 21% 30% 28%	490
	21st to end	Day	8% 2 8% 21% 33% 28%	490
July	1st to 10th	Day	6% 2 6% 15% 33% 38%	485
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 2 14% 30% 45%	484
	21st to end	Day	7% 1 6% 13% 38% 36%	532
August	1st to 10th	Day	12% 1 7% 19% 30% 33%	486
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 1 5% 13% 33% 40%	479
	21st to end	Day	11% 2 7% 21% 33% 26%	539
September	1st to 10th	Day	15% 3 8% 21% 28% 26%	490
	11th to 20th	Day	14% 2 8% 30% 33% 12%	490
	21st to end	Day	13% 1 10% 23% 31% 20%	490
October	1st to 10th	Day	13% 3 22% 33% 21% 8%	490
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 5% 20% 30% 27% 9%	490
	21st to end	Day	10% 8% 20% 33% 25% 4	539
November	1st to 10th	Day	16% 5% 23% 29% 20% 7%	470
	11th to 20th	Day	14% 10% 36% 26% 10% 4	300
	21st to end	Day	10% 14% 31% 26% 15% 3	299
December	1st to 10th	Day	17% 12% 30% 27% 11% 3	270
	11th to 20th	Day	23% 12% 33% 24% 7% 1	270
	21st to end	Day	18% 12% 31% 27% 11% 1	297
January	1st to 10th	Night	16% 11% 36% 31% 4 1	760
	11th to 20th	Night	13% 12% 31% 33% 11% 1	760
	21st to end	Night	20% 11% 35% 29% 5%	836
February	1st to 10th	Night	17% 11% 32% 33% 8%	760
	11th to 20th	Night	18% 10% 34% 32% 6%	743
	21st to end	Night	15% 9% 36% 35% 4	628
March	1st to 10th	Night	14% 9% 31% 38% 8%	760
	11th to 20th	Night	13% 10% 32% 32% 13% 1	760
	21st to end	Night	11% 11% 32% 34% 11%	836
April	1st to 10th	Night	13% 9% 30% 34% 13% 1	760
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 8% 30% 38% 14% 1	663
	21st to end	Night	6% 5% 26% 39% 22% 1	570
May	1st to 10th	Night	6% 5% 24% 40% 22% 2	570
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 2 22% 38% 25% 5%	561
	21st to end	Night	9% 1 12% 35% 37% 5%	617
June	1st to 10th	Night	9% 1 10% 38% 35% 7%	570
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 1 9% 32% 41% 11%	570
	21st to end	Night	7% 1 4 34% 43% 10%	570
July	1st to 10th	Night	9% 1 6% 24% 45% 15%	555
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 3 17% 52% 19%	552
	21st to end	Night	6% 1 4 24% 54% 12%	624
August	1st to 10th	Night	8% 6% 24% 50% 12%	567
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 1 5% 20% 52% 15%	564
	21st to end	Night	10% 2 7% 28% 40% 14%	679
September	1st to 10th	Night	12% 1 9% 27% 40% 11%	760
	11th to 20th	Night	13% 3 10% 34% 36% 5%	760
	21st to end	Night	12% 2 13% 30% 38% 4	760
October	1st to 10th	Night	13% 3 19% 35% 27% 3	760
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 4 20% 36% 26% 4	760
	21st to end	Night	10% 5% 22% 35% 26% 1	836
November	1st to 10th	Night	13% 6% 20% 38% 21% 2	780
	11th to 20th	Night	13% 9% 27% 33% 17% 1	800
	21st to end	Night	13% 8% 31% 33% 15% 1	800
December	1st to 10th	Night	14% 8% 31% 31% 14% 1	760
	11th to 20th	Night	17% 7% 31% 31% 13% 2	760
	21st to end	Night	22% 10% 24% 32% 12%	836

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