Best time of the year for observing?

[esxste]

For those of you with a few years under your belt; I was pondering this fairly abstract question.

Obviously, one would hope to get out stargazing as often as possible.

However, as someone with only a month or so into owning a telescope and blessed the impatience of a 5 year old, I'm sat here listening to the wind blow. And I'm wondering; Is there any sweet spots in the year? I imagine June isn't the most productive of months, with the sun down for only 6 hours or so. I suppose another factor is what's up for viewing at different times in the year.

What would you say is the best period for stargazing?

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[Langy]

Being new myself I can only give a limited opinion.

If you are going to get clear skies then I'd say winter time would be best as the land would be cooler and give less atmospheric disturbance from the heat.

DSO will vary in their location in the sky as you travel through the year, so on that I'd say it depends on what you want to see.

If it is planets then they all move at different rates. Take a look at the link below and you can see where they all are at different times, you can alter the time and speed the time up or slow it down, quite useful to know when a planet is getting close to us.

http://www.theplanetstoday.com/

[chiltonstar]

Summer for seeing, Winter for transparency and the longer nights...........preferably somewhere with a better climate!

Chris

[acey]

Spring, especially March-April. It offers an abundance of DSOs (notably the galaxies of the Virgo Cluster and Supercluster), decent hours of darkness, and (with luck) decent weather.

Winter has long nights and some of them can be crystal clear, but a lot of them can be lousy. Summer has short nights, with no full darkness at all around the solstice. Early autumn (September-October) would be my second favourite time, though Keats's description ("season of mists") can at times prove depressingly accurate.

[southernman]

For me , at my location , winter is the obvious choice - Scorpius and Sagittarius high overhead with the Milky Way spreading through to Carina and Centaurus.

Peter

[skfboiler]

When there are no clouds.

[cotterless45]

Slipping from autumn into winter. The nights are long , crisp and transparent . It's a wonderful build up from summer constellations which are still observable such as Cygnus to the arrival of winter gems such as Taurus, Orion and Leo,

Nick.

[Mr Spock]

Autumn for stars, spring for the moon, summer for planets and doubles. Winter is too cold

[Moonshane]

I agree, in the UK it's when the sky is clear. In ideal conditions the above comments count but if it's cloudy it all becomes quickly irrelevant.

[Stargazer_00]

I'm starting to find Winter is also too cold so early Spring through to May/early June is good.  then it's solar observing for a few months and the occasional warm summer midnight boozy viewing in shorts and t shirt till 2am and then Autumn.  This year I didn't get the scope much out at all during the winter as it's been just too damn cold.  Although I have had it out a few times when it's been not so cold as I love to soak in the Orion Nebula.

[Tonys]

I agree with cotterless45 - autumn into winter, but I am blessed with an unobscured view of the eastern sky including NE and SE and love to welcome old friends as they first appear any time of the year.

[Pete Presland]

The middle of winter, just not this one!

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[jkwhinfrey]

It appears that most agree that it depends on what you want to see and when the weather will let you

Personally I've found some of the best transparency in spring, don't know why. The skies can be fantastic in the wake of heavy rain too.

Don't count the summer out though. Solar observing is fun - with the right filter of course - but morning is best to avoid the unsteady seeing generated by its heat later in the day. It's a good season to for the Milky Way as it moves overhead.

Time of day, or night, can be just as important as the season IMHO. Very late night and early morning can really reduce the light pollution. Sensible people are in bed and some councils even reduce their street illumination at these times.

[Ags]

Winter for planets - if they are at opposition in Winter, they will of course have max elevation.

[Langy]

Sensible people are in bed and some councils even reduce their street illumination at these times.

You don't get many councils doing that. I know one around Ipswich way where I used to live does that, but not up here in Cumbria.

If only they would, even just for an hour during the middle of the night.

[esxste]

Thanks for you're input guys

I hope more people stop by and share their favourite time of year to observe; and indeed what they enjoy observing at that time. 

Obviously there is variations on a night to night basis, as well as that infernal battles with clouds but I was more hoping for views on what time of year people look forward to most for stargazing and why...

[esxste]

I want the edit button. Shameful grammar

[Langy]

That's another question totally.

[Stu]

I posted this on a similar thread, but my favourite time is normally defined by opportunity under dark skies, and this happens each August when I usually go to Dorset camping.

I love being under dark skies, sometimes observing with the scope, but often just naked eye or with binoculars. At that time of year, the Milky Way is wonderful running through Cygnus, with dark rifts visible in it on good nights. There are plenty of shooting stars around, and the Andromeda Galaxy and Double Cluster are naked eye objects. Plenty of Messier objects visible with just binoculars, and the Veil and North American Nebula look wonderful. Plus it is normally quite warm still!!

Also, for some reason not sure why, the ISS is normally doing wonderful overhead passes at a good time in the evening. Have seen it in formation with the Shuttle too in the past, a lovely sight.

Stu

[Ags]

I want the edit button. Shameful grammar

Grammar is for schoolteachers :-)