Favourite season

[Mart29]

Hello guys, 

What's your favourite time of year for viewing?

I get my best viewing in winter,  interested in other people's favourite.  A clear summers night vs a clear winter night 🌙  

[Ags]

The best time for me is late summer, early autumn I like region around the Summer Triangle, Cassiopeia, Perseus and Andromeda.

[Zeta Reticulan]

The season without clouds.

[Mart29]

1 hour ago, Zeta Reticulan said:

The season without clouds.

Aha! Good luck with that. It's my shortest season that , about two days straight 🤣

[col]

Autumn and winter for me. Iv never been a hot weather person and love the colder seasons.

Edited August 28, 2022 by col

[cajen2]

Winter for me because I love Orion - quite apart from the fabulous nebulae, there's a plethora of interesting doubles in and around it, from easy to virtually impossible.

[Guest]

Not so much a specific season here.  More like a timeframe.  September and October should be good, the temps cool off and the sky stabilizes a bit.  November is iffy as that is usually when the clouds come in and it stays cloudy through December.  January and February are cold months in Ohio but the skies tend to clear, so if it is clear and above 20 degrees i give it a go.  March is back to clouds and april is pot luck.  May thru July is usually decent.  August..... Forget about it... You will melt and the humidity is brutal. 

[Pixies]

Galaxy season in Spring

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

September and October. Those are the months I manage to get out camping most often. Temperatures don't drop too low for comfort at night and the weather overall is rather mild. Given clear skies, with binoculars alone, I can tick off more deep sky objects in one night compared to the rest of the year back home.

Staying at home, on a crisp and clear mid winter's night I'll be out in the back garden.

[Kon]

Late summer and winter for the several nebulas. I am warming up on galaxy season as well in the spring, so pretty much all year round observing 🤣.

[AstroNebulee]

Very late Summer /Autumn is my favourite season, darker evenings approaching, some summer targets still around and winter ones starting to show. More imaging time if skies are clear, trees looking beautiful, just love it 🍂🍁

Lee 

[Stu]

Just moved this one to Observing - Discussion where I may get some more input.

For me it is anything around now, Milkywat well positioned, still warm and dark skies returning.

[Paz]

This is not clear cut for me, my favourite time is probably being able to check out saggitarius and the milky way in the summer holidays when the conditions are civilised (i.e. warmer), but winter when the other side of the milky way has come around and when the moon is higher is also a  good time.

Edited August 31, 2022 by Paz

[PrairieStarGazer]

If I had to pick one it would be spring galaxy season but Late summer to early fall is not far behind. Winter is awesome but -25 degrees tends to ruin any observing session while early summer is our wet season.

[RT65CB-SWL]

Late summer to early spring… preferably cloud free! 

[scarp15]

Winter sky for sure. Earlier start, crisp transparent sky, wrapped up in plush lofted down jacket and hat, frost forming on everything, peering up at Orion and California nebula, afore sipping some more hot coffee, life affirming. 

[RobertI]

Yes probably Winter for me in terms of skies and targets, although this time of year is brilliant from a practical perspective - still warm and getting fully dark reasonably early makes observing a joy.  

[jjohnson3803]

I'd say early spring, part of summer, and early fall.  Darkness is limited here as we move toward summer with astro twilight starting at something like 0330.  The older I get, the less I like winter.  But I'm an early riser so I'm observing winter constellations now and I don't need heavy clothes to stay warm.

I really like observing summer objects, but the humidity and mosquitos here can be vicious.  That's another reason to observe Scorpius and such in the late spring.  But I do like watching the stars come out on a warm summer night and dark site camping is available early spring through early fall.