Black Mountain Observatory
Clear Sky Chart
History

This sumarizes the distribution of each different forecast outcome for the Black Mountain Observatory clear sky chart from 2005-11-06 to 2024-03-06.

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	4 5% 2 5% 5% 3 5% 5% 6% 8% 52%	78636
	Night	2 4 2 4 3 2 3 4 5% 8% 63%	80942
Transparency	Day	27% 8% 12% 23% 22% 8%	78348
	Night	20% 6% 14% 28% 24% 7%	80752
Seeing	Day	12% 25% 26% 22% 12% 3	14496
	Night	6% 21% 33% 26% 13% 2	24740

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	2 2 5% 3 2 4 5% 6% 9% 63%	2538
	11th to 20th	Day	1 1 3 4 2 6% 7% 8% 10% 57%	2773
	21st to end	Day	5% 4 7% 4 3 4 4 6% 8% 54%	3146
February	1st to 10th	Day	3 3 5% 5% 3 5% 5% 6% 8% 58%	1710
	11th to 20th	Day	2 1 4 4 2 5% 4 6% 8% 62%	1782
	21st to end	Day	2 3 6% 7% 3 5% 6% 4 6% 58%	1570
March	1st to 10th	Day	4 2 5% 5% 3 5% 4 5% 7% 57%	1894
	11th to 20th	Day	1 7% 4 6% 4 3 4 4 6% 8% 52%	1980
	21st to end	Day	2 6% 3 5% 5% 3 5% 6% 8% 9% 48%	2266
April	1st to 10th	Day	1 5% 2 4 5% 3 5% 5% 6% 10% 54%	2160
	11th to 20th	Day	3 9% 3 8% 6% 3 6% 6% 6% 8% 44%	2131
	21st to end	Day	3 7% 3 6% 5% 3 5% 6% 7% 9% 45%	2160
May	1st to 10th	Day	5% 8% 3 6% 6% 4 7% 5% 6% 8% 41%	2225
	11th to 20th	Day	7% 11% 3 5% 6% 3 6% 6% 7% 7% 38%	2478
	21st to end	Day	6% 7% 3 5% 5% 4 6% 7% 6% 9% 41%	2724
June	1st to 10th	Day	3 5% 2 5% 6% 3 5% 6% 7% 9% 48%	2520
	11th to 20th	Day	4 5% 2 4 5% 3 4 5% 6% 8% 53%	2520
	21st to end	Day	4 5% 2 5% 5% 4 6% 6% 7% 8% 49%	2520
July	1st to 10th	Day	7% 6% 3 7% 7% 4 6% 6% 7% 6% 42%	2520
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 6% 2 6% 6% 4 7% 6% 7% 8% 40%	2520
	21st to end	Day	10% 8% 4 7% 7% 5% 7% 7% 7% 7% 31%	2581
August	1st to 10th	Day	12% 8% 3 7% 8% 5% 6% 5% 5% 8% 32%	2328
	11th to 20th	Day	7% 6% 2 6% 7% 4 6% 6% 6% 8% 43%	2162
	21st to end	Day	7% 6% 2 6% 6% 4 7% 6% 6% 8% 40%	2376
September	1st to 10th	Day	6% 6% 2 6% 6% 3 5% 5% 5% 6% 50%	2160
	11th to 20th	Day	5% 5% 2 4 6% 3 4 5% 5% 6% 55%	2160
	21st to end	Day	4 4 2 5% 4 2 4 4 4 7% 61%	1949
October	1st to 10th	Day	4 5% 2 4 5% 3 4 4 5% 7% 56%	1800
	11th to 20th	Day	2 3 1 2 2 2 3 4 5% 7% 68%	1800
	21st to end	Day	2 5% 2 4 3 2 4 3 4 7% 63%	1980
November	1st to 10th	Day	1 3 1 3 2 1 3 3 5% 7% 73%	1680
	11th to 20th	Day	2 1 2 2 2 2 3 4 8% 74%	1710
	21st to end	Day	1 3 2 4 3 1 4 3 5% 7% 67%	1573
December	1st to 10th	Day	2 2 5% 4 3 2 4 5% 9% 64%	1520
	11th to 20th	Day	1 3 1 4 4 3 4 5% 5% 12% 59%	1926
	21st to end	Day	3 2 6% 4 2 4 4 7% 10% 58%	2794
January	1st to 10th	Night	2 2 6% 5% 3 3 4 5% 8% 61%	4417
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 2 3 2 4 5% 6% 7% 68%	4224
	21st to end	Night	6% 3 5% 4 2 3 3 4 6% 63%	4521
February	1st to 10th	Night	2 2 5% 3 3 3 4 5% 7% 68%	2470
	11th to 20th	Night	2 2 4 3 2 3 4 5% 7% 67%	2283
	21st to end	Night	3 3 4 4 2 3 4 4 8% 66%	1884
March	1st to 10th	Night	4 2 3 2 2 3 4 4 8% 68%	2177
	11th to 20th	Night	1 5% 2 4 3 2 3 3 4 8% 63%	1980
	21st to end	Night	1 5% 3 4 4 2 4 4 4 7% 62%	2088
April	1st to 10th	Night	1 3 1 2 3 2 4 4 5% 7% 68%	1800
	11th to 20th	Night	3 7% 3 4 4 2 4 4 5% 7% 56%	1777
	21st to end	Night	4 7% 3 4 4 2 4 3 3 7% 59%	1800
May	1st to 10th	Night	6% 7% 3 4 3 2 3 5% 6% 8% 54%	1732
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 11% 3 4 3 3 4 4 6% 9% 48%	1417
	21st to end	Night	6% 6% 2 4 4 2 3 4 6% 8% 55%	1552
June	1st to 10th	Night	2 5% 1 2 2 2 3 4 6% 10% 62%	1440
	11th to 20th	Night	4 2 1 2 3 2 3 4 6% 8% 65%	1440
	21st to end	Night	2 3 1 3 3 2 4 4 7% 9% 62%	1440
July	1st to 10th	Night	7% 5% 2 4 4 3 5% 7% 6% 9% 48%	1440
	11th to 20th	Night	3 3 2 4 5% 3 5% 5% 6% 9% 56%	1440
	21st to end	Night	6% 5% 3 5% 5% 4 7% 6% 7% 10% 42%	1732
August	1st to 10th	Night	6% 5% 3 4 4 3 5% 5% 7% 11% 47%	1611
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 5% 2 4 4 3 5% 5% 6% 8% 53%	1739
	21st to end	Night	5% 5% 2 4 6% 3 4 5% 6% 9% 51%	1980
September	1st to 10th	Night	5% 4 2 4 4 3 5% 4 6% 8% 56%	1800
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 4 2 4 4 2 3 3 5% 8% 62%	1800
	21st to end	Night	5% 4 1 3 4 2 3 4 5% 5% 64%	2008
October	1st to 10th	Night	5% 5% 1 3 3 2 3 4 4 7% 63%	2160
	11th to 20th	Night	1 2 1 2 2 2 2 3 4 5% 76%	2160
	21st to end	Night	2 5% 2 4 3 2 2 3 5% 6% 67%	2376
November	1st to 10th	Night	3 1 2 2 1 2 3 4 6% 75%	2377
	11th to 20th	Night	1 1 1 2 1 2 3 4 8% 77%	2470
	21st to end	Night	1 3 2 3 2 1 3 3 5% 8% 68%	2603
December	1st to 10th	Night	2 1 3 4 1 2 4 4 8% 72%	2660
	11th to 20th	Night	1 3 2 3 3 3 3 4 6% 11% 62%	3271
	21st to end	Night	3 2 5% 4 2 4 5% 5% 8% 62%	4873

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	16% 6% 19% 27% 24% 8%	2539
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 7% 23% 26% 25% 4	2773
	21st to end	Day	24% 10% 11% 30% 20% 6%	3146
February	1st to 10th	Day	21% 9% 16% 27% 19% 8%	1710
	11th to 20th	Day	18% 8% 12% 26% 27% 9%	1791
	21st to end	Day	23% 8% 11% 20% 24% 13%	1570
March	1st to 10th	Day	24% 7% 11% 26% 29% 4	1894
	11th to 20th	Day	27% 7% 12% 29% 20% 6%	1980
	21st to end	Day	27% 9% 12% 29% 18% 4	2266
April	1st to 10th	Day	24% 8% 14% 25% 20% 9%	2160
	11th to 20th	Day	34% 8% 12% 22% 21% 4	2134
	21st to end	Day	31% 9% 11% 29% 18% 2	2160
May	1st to 10th	Day	37% 9% 10% 22% 19% 3	2225
	11th to 20th	Day	39% 11% 14% 23% 11% 1	2482
	21st to end	Day	33% 10% 13% 19% 18% 6%	2724
June	1st to 10th	Day	28% 10% 13% 20% 21% 8%	2520
	11th to 20th	Day	26% 8% 8% 18% 23% 17%	2520
	21st to end	Day	28% 9% 9% 21% 21% 12%	2520
July	1st to 10th	Day	36% 11% 10% 15% 17% 11%	2451
	11th to 20th	Day	35% 13% 12% 20% 13% 8%	2445
	21st to end	Day	46% 13% 15% 14% 9% 3	2437
August	1st to 10th	Day	44% 12% 13% 12% 13% 6%	2313
	11th to 20th	Day	35% 10% 12% 16% 19% 8%	2162
	21st to end	Day	35% 12% 10% 19% 19% 5%	2376
September	1st to 10th	Day	31% 8% 9% 14% 23% 14%	2160
	11th to 20th	Day	26% 7% 11% 18% 27% 11%	2160
	21st to end	Day	23% 7% 6% 25% 31% 8%	1949
October	1st to 10th	Day	25% 8% 8% 21% 28% 10%	1800
	11th to 20th	Day	17% 4 6% 25% 37% 11%	1800
	21st to end	Day	20% 6% 8% 29% 27% 10%	1980
November	1st to 10th	Day	12% 5% 12% 23% 36% 11%	1680
	11th to 20th	Day	11% 4 10% 37% 28% 10%	1710
	21st to end	Day	17% 4 11% 28% 27% 13%	1573
December	1st to 10th	Day	17% 7% 17% 31% 22% 7%	1520
	11th to 20th	Day	19% 7% 14% 33% 24% 4	1924
	21st to end	Day	18% 8% 12% 25% 26% 11%	2794
January	1st to 10th	Night	22% 5% 14% 32% 23% 4	4417
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 7% 18% 33% 23% 7%	4224
	21st to end	Night	22% 6% 14% 29% 24% 5%	4521
February	1st to 10th	Night	18% 4 15% 33% 23% 7%	2470
	11th to 20th	Night	17% 5% 13% 30% 28% 6%	2284
	21st to end	Night	18% 4 10% 29% 29% 10%	1884
March	1st to 10th	Night	16% 6% 12% 29% 33% 5%	2177
	11th to 20th	Night	20% 6% 12% 35% 22% 5%	1980
	21st to end	Night	22% 5% 15% 31% 23% 3	2088
April	1st to 10th	Night	16% 6% 16% 30% 26% 6%	1800
	11th to 20th	Night	28% 6% 11% 29% 23% 4	1777
	21st to end	Night	27% 5% 15% 32% 20% 2	1800
May	1st to 10th	Night	28% 7% 14% 30% 19% 3	1732
	11th to 20th	Night	33% 8% 18% 27% 13% 1	1418
	21st to end	Night	26% 7% 15% 23% 21% 7%	1552
June	1st to 10th	Night	18% 7% 18% 28% 20% 10%	1440
	11th to 20th	Night	16% 7% 13% 22% 25% 17%	1440
	21st to end	Night	17% 6% 13% 24% 27% 12%	1440
July	1st to 10th	Night	30% 11% 15% 19% 15% 10%	1400
	11th to 20th	Night	24% 10% 17% 24% 18% 7%	1392
	21st to end	Night	32% 14% 25% 20% 7% 2	1636
August	1st to 10th	Night	28% 13% 22% 18% 14% 6%	1602
	11th to 20th	Night	28% 8% 17% 20% 20% 6%	1739
	21st to end	Night	27% 11% 14% 24% 18% 5%	1980
September	1st to 10th	Night	26% 8% 13% 21% 22% 11%	1800
	11th to 20th	Night	21% 6% 14% 24% 23% 13%	1800
	21st to end	Night	22% 5% 9% 28% 30% 6%	2008
October	1st to 10th	Night	22% 7% 11% 23% 25% 12%	2160
	11th to 20th	Night	11% 3 10% 27% 37% 12%	2160
	21st to end	Night	18% 4 11% 29% 30% 8%	2376
November	1st to 10th	Night	11% 5% 12% 27% 34% 11%	2377
	11th to 20th	Night	9% 4 11% 37% 30% 9%	2470
	21st to end	Night	16% 4 11% 30% 27% 11%	2603
December	1st to 10th	Night	14% 4 19% 30% 25% 7%	2660
	11th to 20th	Night	17% 6% 16% 27% 28% 6%	3272
	21st to end	Night	20% 6% 14% 24% 22% 13%	4873

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	14% 33% 26% 20% 6% 1	270
	11th to 20th	Day	16% 39% 26% 13% 5%	270
	21st to end	Day	6% 40% 32% 18% 3 1	297
February	1st to 10th	Day	10% 57% 24% 7% 1 1	270
	11th to 20th	Day	18% 46% 23% 10% 3	270
	21st to end	Day	27% 40% 23% 8% 2	225
March	1st to 10th	Day	14% 43% 26% 15% 2	299
	11th to 20th	Day	13% 35% 31% 16% 3	420
	21st to end	Day	14% 50% 26% 8% 2	462
April	1st to 10th	Day	15% 43% 28% 10% 4	420
	11th to 20th	Day	22% 42% 22% 8% 4 1	412
	21st to end	Day	20% 37% 27% 13% 3 1	420
May	1st to 10th	Day	16% 36% 28% 14% 5% 1	449
	11th to 20th	Day	15% 22% 27% 23% 10% 3	625
	21st to end	Day	14% 20% 25% 26% 12% 3	679
June	1st to 10th	Day	5% 16% 26% 29% 20% 4	630
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 18% 29% 29% 13% 3	630
	21st to end	Day	5% 13% 30% 26% 20% 6%	630
July	1st to 10th	Day	8% 7% 19% 37% 23% 7%	621
	11th to 20th	Day	8% 7% 16% 36% 24% 9%	618
	21st to end	Day	12% 7% 18% 34% 24% 6%	523
August	1st to 10th	Day	17% 11% 21% 29% 18% 4	447
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 6% 26% 32% 22% 5%	437
	21st to end	Day	13% 9% 22% 33% 19% 4	495
September	1st to 10th	Day	11% 12% 26% 29% 18% 4	450
	11th to 20th	Day	9% 15% 31% 28% 13% 3	450
	21st to end	Day	10% 16% 27% 25% 18% 4	293
October	1st to 10th	Day	9% 25% 20% 21% 22% 3	270
	11th to 20th	Day	13% 31% 24% 21% 9% 2	270
	21st to end	Day	14% 30% 25% 23% 7% 1	297
November	1st to 10th	Day	13% 36% 27% 17% 7% 1	270
	11th to 20th	Day	10% 34% 30% 18% 5% 2	270
	21st to end	Day	6% 33% 39% 19% 3 1	270
December	1st to 10th	Day	16% 35% 30% 13% 4 1	270
	11th to 20th	Day	12% 43% 27% 13% 5%	270
	21st to end	Day	16% 38% 28% 14% 3 1	297
January	1st to 10th	Night	6% 33% 34% 20% 6% 1	950
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 37% 33% 17% 5% 1	822
	21st to end	Night	3 31% 42% 18% 5% 1	836
February	1st to 10th	Night	3 35% 42% 15% 4	760
	11th to 20th	Night	5% 33% 40% 18% 4	744
	21st to end	Night	5% 30% 46% 17% 2	628
March	1st to 10th	Night	4 27% 41% 22% 5%	742
	11th to 20th	Night	4 22% 40% 25% 8%	720
	21st to end	Night	4 29% 43% 20% 4	702
April	1st to 10th	Night	7% 24% 45% 21% 4	540
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 24% 36% 24% 7% 1	533
	21st to end	Night	9% 22% 36% 24% 9% 1	540
May	1st to 10th	Night	9% 15% 40% 25% 10% 1	540
	11th to 20th	Night	13% 9% 26% 34% 16% 2	531
	21st to end	Night	10% 11% 29% 31% 16% 3	584
June	1st to 10th	Night	6% 8% 26% 36% 22% 2	540
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 7% 33% 39% 14% 1	540
	21st to end	Night	4 4 23% 38% 28% 4	540
July	1st to 10th	Night	8% 3 10% 36% 37% 6%	525
	11th to 20th	Night	4 2 10% 41% 37% 6%	522
	21st to end	Night	8% 4 6% 31% 46% 5%	591
August	1st to 10th	Night	10% 4 10% 34% 40% 3	537
	11th to 20th	Night	7% 4 14% 42% 28% 5%	534
	21st to end	Night	6% 2 15% 36% 35% 5%	594
September	1st to 10th	Night	7% 4 18% 40% 24% 6%	540
	11th to 20th	Night	8% 3 25% 40% 21% 3	540
	21st to end	Night	7% 9% 28% 33% 20% 3	591
October	1st to 10th	Night	7% 12% 37% 29% 13% 3	720
	11th to 20th	Night	2 20% 37% 28% 12% 2	720
	21st to end	Night	6% 20% 38% 24% 9% 2	792
November	1st to 10th	Night	4 21% 42% 25% 8% 1	897
	11th to 20th	Night	3 29% 41% 19% 7% 1	950
	21st to end	Night	4 28% 37% 26% 5% 1	950
December	1st to 10th	Night	6% 30% 40% 20% 4	950
	11th to 20th	Night	6% 34% 35% 20% 6%	950
	21st to end	Night	8% 33% 37% 18% 4	1045

Page generated at 2024-03-03 04:28:55. Version ac07

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