Is it just me....?

[Richard_]

No, you're not imagining it. I've had two clear nights since mid-September and both of those sessions were cut short at midnight due to imminent rain overnight. It feels like every evening has been full of cloud or rain (then again, I'm in Wales so should be used to it!). 

I picked this hobby up October 2020 and I definitely feel like that Winter had a huge number of clear evenings in comparison to last year and this year so far. 

Edited December 2, 2022 by Richard_
Corrected year

[Petrol]

It's frustrating these days, very. 10 years ago I built a smally obsy in my back yard and I can remember having many cold clear nights with good skies this time of year. I even left the scope on all night imaging. I had to take a break from imaging for a few years but now I'm retired and back, the change in the weather is unbelievable. I find it very sad that climate change has happened and the result, is unpredicatable weather.

[saac]

We have had a reasonable number of clear nights across here on the East coast of Scotland but it has just been so damp.  I can cope with the cold no problem but cold and damp is just a motivation killer.  Funny though, my setup is pretty much remote now, only requiring me to slide the roof off and back on, and a very minimal prep, but the damp just seeps through to the core.  I'm hoping for some really cold clear dry nights in December and over the Christmas period. Eagerly awaiting to test out my new "black and white" Red Cat  

Jim 

[woldsman]

Data quality is likely to be an issue in the pre-satellite age. Since definitions & standards vary in the past, very long term analysis would have to be based on modelling hours of sunlight as a proxy.  Should be possible to examine satellite data from the 1960s/70s though to answer some basic questions over trends in U.K. cloud cover. If there is a structural break, then the next step would be to relate it to a weather system change. The global warming connection seems complex. Lack of cloud cover and more cloud cover can both cause temperature rise, depending on the model.

[DaveS]

There was a few hours of clear sky last night, but with everything dripping wet from dew I had no incentive to open up. A bright moon close to my current target didn't help.

[jacko61]

Clear Outside is telling me Wednesday is going to be clear from 5pm right through till 3pm Thursday. As usual this coincides with a full moon  - you couldn't make it up!!

Graeme

[Space Hopper]

That would me Mr Sod, and his famous law.

But i wouldn't take much notice of Clear outside. I find it to be routinely hopeless.

[scotty1]

This time of year can be very Murky and dull, because there's not much power in the sun to shift fog. High pressure can end up being cloudier than low pressure sometimes,  because lack of wind keeps low cloud in situ (ACG) Anticyclonic Gloom. Wind is set to increase during the next few days, but winds from the North Sea are never great for clear skies. One thing that may help is lower humidity arriving from the continental airmass, but there's going to be a more  north drift next week, this will boost the humidity up as the air flows over the sea. 

Sea temperatures around the UK and Mediterranean have in general been higher than usual this year, because of the prolonged heat in Europe. 

Edited December 2, 2022 by scotty1

[Stu1smartcookie]

With an iminent icy blast forecast to hit Britain next week lets hope that the air will flow more quickly , which will clear the horrible fog . The annoying thing is , the fog clears during the day , only to re-appear at dusk . I have a new scope and two new mounts to try out , but they sit patiently in our spare room ! 

[Ratlet]

1 hour ago, jacko61 said:

Clear Outside is telling me Wednesday is going to be clear from 5pm right through till 3pm Thursday. As usual this coincides with a full moon  - you couldn't make it up!!

Graeme

As is tradition.  The full moon brings clear nights.

[Trippelforge]

My son and I recently got pretty into AP and the first few weeks we were able to spend 1/2 of the nights outside. This past week we got one evening that was a bit breezy. Since then looking into the next week there won't be any opportunities for us. And between now and Jan things are sketchy normally. Then of course in January the temps drop below -6, sometimes even hitting -15. Come spring we get strong to severe storms constantly, and the humidity skyrockets, temps can end up hitting 37 (although if lucky they drop to a "cool" 30 after dark). Toss in the bonus of swarms of mosquitoes and I probably lose about 75% of nights. So I completely feel your pain!

It also just made me question why I am doing this... LOL

 

 

 

 

[CCD-Freak]

This is why I worked to get my imaging rig set up so I can control it remotely from inside my house or Caravan.   With crazy Texas weather and bugs it makes things much more comfortable.   Now I can sit inside and image when it is cold in shorts and a T-shirt with a cold BEvERage in hand.  

The lack of clear sky is the main problem now.

 

 

 

Edited December 2, 2022 by CCD-Freak

[Mr Spock]

Need I say more?

[jjohnson3803]

Well, several of those nights are BFM (Big Fat Moon) nights...

I picked up a new refractor from my local FedEx store about 1430 yesterday.  The clouds rolled in about 1800.

 

Edited December 2, 2022 by jjohnson3803

[Leo S]

My impression has been that this year has been fairly good, at least up till about two weeks ago! I keep detailed records of when my cameras are running, but had not had a chance to tot up any of the numbers till the recent cloudy weather. So I just looked at how long the cameras ran in October, which was a fairly typical month compared to the rest of the year, and total CAMERA hours were 301 hrs 48 min. I usually run two cameras, so two cameras running for one hour equals two camera hours, for example.

That translates to around 5 hrs of recording on an average night in October.

Caveats: I record footage, which is a bit more forgiving of cloud/Moon/light pollution in general, and I do leave the cameras running, at least for a short time, if it gets 100% cloudy (it's less faff than constantly stopping/starting). Probably between 1/4-1/5 of the total time is mostly/completely clouded out.

[CCD-Freak]

On 02/12/2022 at 10:01, Mr Spock said:

Need I say more?

What weather site is this ?????

Looks like it goes out farther than the one I use now.

 

 

[Mr Spock]

21 minutes ago, CCD-Freak said:

What weather site is this ?????

Clear Outside - there's a link at the top of the page under 'Resources'.

[CCD-Freak]

Thanks....I just found it.  It looks useful so I bookmarked it into my Weather Folder.

 

 

[tomato]

I was planning to image tonight, despite the prominent moon. 
20 minutes in I have this:

[Mr Spock]

It's clear here! Sadly, I'm feeling too cold to go outside. 22° in here and a heavy fleece at the moment 

[Ratlet]

I bought my wife one of those Teddy Fleeces from Primark the other day.  I wouldn't think about going out if I didn't have the option to steal that.  My goodness is it WARM.  and only £15.

[Elp]

Finally it's clear but damn is it cold, my four/five layer combo is holding for now.

[jacko61]

I feel fortunate to have built a warm control room onto my slide off shed. In there last night with an electric heater going I was warmer than if I'd been in the living room

Only managed a few 30 second Lunar videos between clouds though.

Graeme

[Richard_]

Would you believe it... Three months of almost constant cloud, and three days ago I picked up a chest infection. At the same time, the clouds have parted and we've had three brilliant nights of clear skies. What are the odds?

Hope everyone has been able to get outside to enjoy it

Edited December 9, 2022 by Richard_

[SmokeyJoe]

Clear as a bell last night, set up around 7.30 it took a while as I have not been out for a month or two. PA took a long time despite the asiair I live on an old airbase right by a nuclear bunker, North is always a few degrees out sometimes to the point where I have to move the mount!  Focused, slew to M33, just sorting guiding out (first time ever) and my power tank died.  The SO had gone to bed by then so I could get away with an extention lead out of the window, sorted this out, restarted asiair, mount etc and then the fog rolled in.  😭😭😭