Orange Glow

[jaspa]

Sky seems clear of cloud but viewing is not very good, can hardly see any stars with the naked eye only the brightest, moon is very clear. Orange glow from street lamps just seems really bad, is this normal for this time of year and i have to wait to next winter for any good clear skies ?

[geppetto]

Jaspa

I set up for tonight as the sky was clear but seeing is so bad,

I gave up and packed away.

[nitram100]

I have just come in from my session and was about to post a similair topic, it's been like this alot lately, weather reports say clear and it looks clear, but i can only see about 5 stars including saturn, really strange as i can't remember the last proper clear night, it's just kinda foggy when it says clear, anybody know what it is? :x

[Cloudgazer]

It's exactly the same where I am.. not a cloud in the sky but terrible orange glow everywhere except directly above. I'm sure it wasn't this bad around January time.

Scott

[stargazer1980]

hi peeps! As a trainee airline pilot (not trying to brag), I do study weather patterns and anomolies (sorry if mis-spelt)! Basically in lamens terms, in winter come spring time you get cold nights followed by warmish sunny days and what happens is the moisture that the night leaves behind is evapourated by the daytime sun but in a more dramatic sense! Cos the nights are so cold but the days are getting warmer theres alot of humidity in the air, but cos the sun isnt really quite hot enough to evapourate all the moisture it stays in the the atmosphere as residual water particles which then returns back to the ground as the more dense heavy cold air returns in the cold evening! Its a slow process and this is the clearest you will see it for about the next 2-3 weeks! The clearest time is around 12-3 in the morning! The orange glow is the light being absorbed by the water particals thus making it hard to see! Hope this helps! Its kinda like mid air fog

Sorry if the wordings not not too clear but its quite hard to explain something thats quite a complicated process

Sorry again

Darren

[robindurant]

Thanks Darren for that explanation. Ive just come in, all I could see was some of the M44 Beehive, no Double Custer even. The Moon seemed to be in its own Fog. Roll on Summer.

[nitram100]

Thanks alot for writing that mate, now i can tell other people and pass off as being clever!

I'm glad that there is a reason it was Rubbish seeing tonight because i thought it was my scope and came in proper peed lol.

Thanks again :thumbleft:

Martin

[jaspa]

Glad there is a reason for it so the viewing should improve in the summer.

Only started this hobby in December, not seen a full years viewing and the changes as weather gets warmer.

[stargazer1980]

First of all your very welcome and second of all its just the atmospheric transition from winter to spring! Hey dont take all the credit.....................nah im just messin! You really want to wait for a real hot day then a big rain storm then get outside with your telescope when it clears up for the first few days! Although i have only been an astronomer for a month i do know when the clearest nights will be! Saying that all i have seen is the MOON, Saturn not very much of the beehive cluster and very faint and i mean faint smudges of M81 and M82

Galad i could help

Darren

[The Warthog]

So when I come to England next week, I may as well leave my little scope in Canada?

[GazOC]

That a good explaination Darren, cheers!

WH, you'll jinx us if you bring your scope over... :nono:

[The Warthog]

WH, you'll jinx us if you bring your scope over... :nono:

But I can use it for birdwatching on the nature reserve! Wouldn't think of using it for astronomy!

[proflight2000]

I thought it was odd as I was tracking Saturn last night and although it was clear in my eyepiece, every now and again it was as if the whole focus had been changed, a few seconds later back to normal and so on.

[Macavity]

I think what I notice is a kind of yellow "screed" covering the sky, during the daylight hours - Often for DAYS on end. Very few actual clouds and those there are, have no real "edges". A sort of cirro-stratus thing? And, much as I LIKE aeroplanes, SOME of it seems to be spreading and merging of aircraft contrails! Perhaps coloured by nostalgia, but I miss the days of observing on the N.Wales coast as a kid. Fluffy white clouds with SHARP edges on a blue sky by day, and some change of weather on time scales measure in hours, not weeks. <G> But binoculars (only) were probably not the BEST test of astronomical seeing...

[Vega]

Visibility during the daytime is usually a good tell tale sign. On Sunday it was a lovely clear day but couldn't even see the hills in the distance which I normally can, sometimes very clearly (almost making them look closer). A clear night followed but with horrendus skies as expected. Also don't forget the the near full moon always has an effect (even just before it rises).

Matt

[nitram100]

I think it's officially gone, well in northwest london anyway, the sky was very cear last night, had a good session

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

If its left London, it hasn't gone far enough North yet. Last night was clear but the seeing was totally nasty. Couldn't get anything sharply focused, so much so that I checked the collimation twice. Spot on both times, but I couldn't get any tiny dots on the screen.

Captain Chaos

[stargazer1980]

its still around down here in wiltshire! Had to wait till 10pm as seeing beforehand wasn't brilliant but my viewing session last night is in the deep sky forum page if your interested in what i saw!

[Jaffa007]

It was bad last night. And has been [when clear] for the last week or so.

Thanks for the explanation Darren 8)

[nitram100]

It cleared after quite a bit of rain, looks like it's gonna be clear again tonight, 2 nights in a row, doesn't feel like England at all! Saw the sunflower galaxy for the first time last night aswell

[Cloudgazer]

The orange glow seems to have dissappeared in East London as well - seeing's still not great though.

Scott

[lunator]

I'm sorry to repoirt that the high cloud is back.

Seeing is a bit better but transparancy is slightly worse.

I've still amanged to get some afocal pics of some neglected doubles as confirmation of my visual observations, so the night has been productive.

Cheers

ian

[jaspa]

Looking better tonight cant see to much of an orange glow, will give it a go a bit later.