Clear Outside weather forecast

[lukebl]

Can someone clarify something for me.

On the Clear Outside weather app and website is a rating for seeing, which appears to be rated from 0 to 100 in steps of 10, .

Sorry if I'm being stupid but does a high number good or bad seeing, and how accurate is it?

Probably doesn't make much difference anyway, as seeing always seems to be poor here.

[GazOC]

Unless the number factors in the production schedule/ level at the cement factory 2 miles from my house then it's unlikely to be accurate

[Zermelo]

1 hour ago, lukebl said:

Can someone clarify something for me.

On the Clear Outside weather app and website is a rating for seeing, which appears to be rated from 0 to 100 in steps of 10, .

Sorry if I'm being stupid but does a high number good or bad seeing, and how accurate is it?

Probably doesn't make much difference anyway, as seeing always seems to be poor here.

I assume you're talking about the line titled "7Timer Seeing"?
I couldn't find anything on the CO site that explained it either, or the other 7Timer forecast lines.

However, you can compare the CO data with its source on the 7timer website. The format is different there, but when I matched the two websites for my own observing location, it seemed that the general rule for all the lines on the CO site is "the darker the blue colour, the better". For the seeing forecast, that would mean the lower numbers are better.

[fifeskies]

for some detailed seeing forecasting try this

(remember to set for your location)

 

https://www.meteoblue.com/en/weather/outdoorsports/seeing/edinburgh_united-kingdom_2650225

 

Lots of data and an explanation of each category at bottom of the page

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 3, 2020 by fifeskies

[ecuador]

That's interesting, shameless plug, but when I was designing Xasteria as an iOS client for 7Timer, apart from the default icon view I offered a "text" view, for which I considered whether showing an arc seconds figure would be better than a percentage. In the end, I made it a percentage, to match transparency, but I made them both have 100% = best. I mean, in my mind, "maximum" seeing/transparency at 100% should be the best conditions, no? E.g.:

I am still considering whether arcsecs might be better for users that know what it is, but overall I suggest amateur astronomers try out the 7Timer icon view, it is IMHO by far the fastest astro-forecast to read, simply "less/smaller/darker icons = darker/best sky for stargazing". Or to borrow from the Xasteria help:

This applies to the 7Timer website as well of course if you don't have an iOS device to get the free app. If you do have the app though, it will also give you quick access to alternative sources with direct links to Meteoblue, Clear Outside and more for your location. In general, 7Timer is about the best you can do for worldwide astro-seeing forecast. The original poster asked about accuracy, and there is a scientific paper listed on the 7Timer website dealing with measured accuracy, if you can't be bothered to read it, overall I'd say it is probably more accurate than cloud forecasts. Talking about cloud forecast, although I always recommend to keep an eye on 7Timer for seeing, for short-term cloud-coverage (like next 3-6h) you'd want to complement it with something that is updated faster (7Timer is every 6h, which is not bad compared to the 12h of the popular N. America astro-seeing forecast Clear Sky Charts), like Dark Sky (via Clear Sky Charts or Xasteria Plus) or Meteoblue.

 

Edited November 8, 2020 by ecuador