Keeping a record of clear nights in 2022..

[F15Rules]

Thanks Stu..over the past month/5 weeks or so, having felt really grotty, and frustrated at seeing some lovely clear nights come and go, without being able to get outside,  I've been inspired by the "What did you see tonight thread", whereby SGLers post up their thoughts and experiences, long, short, and detailed reports or just quick summaries.

Reading all this stuff galvanized me into wanting to better log actual clear sky opportunities versus opportunities actually taken..if we have clear skies and I don't use them, I can hardly blame the UK weather if the actual reason I don't get outside is me just not bothering to!

With this in mind I've just switched my Vixen SP mount to Altaz Mode, to give me even less excuse "not to bother"!! 😱😜😂

Dave

Edited February 1, 2022 by F15Rules

[Stu]

32 minutes ago, F15Rules said:

With this in mind I've just switched my Vixen SP mount to Altaz Mode, to give me even less excuse "not to bother"!! 😱😜😂

Yes, I saw that! Good move I reckon. Much of my observing has been with the FC76 or FC100 on Scopetech Zero and Gitzo, really quick to setup and pack down (or rather carry outside and back in again all in one piece). The 8” dob is also very quick and easy to put out, so that’s next up in terms of regular use.

[7170]

There were 14 clear nights here (clear up to midnight at a minimum), though I think only two carried on being clear until the morning. I managed to image on 13 nights, so a good month overall.

[F15Rules]

February Clear night count..

January began with an amazing 6 clear nights in the first week, but tailing off towards the end of the month..

Conversely, February was pretty grim in the first half of the month, but ended more positively:

28 nights in the month

8 clear nights  (4 nights of observing)

1 partly clear night

6 nights away from home so no conditions noted

13 Cloudy/foggy/hazy nights - including an unprecedented 3 major storms in one week!

Of the 8 clear nights, I had 4 sessions under the stars, ( same as January), and all were under excellent conditions.

5 of the clear nights were in the last week of the month.

So far, March has had end to end cloud and dampness..we could have our first clear night of the month on either Saturday or Sunday night🤞👍.

Dave

Edited March 4, 2022 by F15Rules

[Planitair]

I have had 6 clear nights since beginning of late September 2021, 2 with New Moon.

I kept a record 2019 and tallied 15 good nights for the season.

I am Bortle 6/7 backyard but can get to a good Bortle 5 in 40mins.

I suppose depending where you live is the factor, I am West Yorkshire not far from Pennines.

I keep my set up basic so as to ensure not too many issues on the night ( Well not too many anyway)

Eric