Holy cow, did you see the weather forecast😭😭😭?

[Stephenstargazer]

1 hour ago, Nigella Bryant said:

Noooooooo, I'm a solar observer, lol.

Well I will have a peek in white light too, when it's warm and the nights are short and I am not busy or enjoying the countryside in an old car or........( so casual I dont consider myself a solar observer at all 😎. But I did organise a 2015 partial eclipse party in the pub next door. The eclipse burgers were delicious - fried egg and black pudding arranged to suit progress. Two startled Japanese business visitors were impressed by my Vixen mount but horrified when told what black pudding was.)

Oh dear my mind has wandered off topic again..............was it clouds or rain or something?

[Gonariu]

If you have the chance, take a cultural-astronomical holiday here in Sardinia at any time of the year, bringing some travel telescope; since there are few inhabitants (1.5 million in almost 24,000 km^2), moving away from the towns you find a good sky with many clear days. The rains are mainly winter (400 mm in Cagliari) with a long summer drought, this year it didn't rain from the beginning of June to the end of October!

[Nigella Bryant]

9 hours ago, globular said:

Wow!  There is a lot going on there! Is it always like that? I think I'll have to ask Santa for some new toys.

We are nearing solar maximum so more activity than usual. However there's always something different to observe with our own star on the doorstep. 

[Marvin Jenkins]

I have found a way to get clear skies every time! Stellarium. I took a look yesterday at lunchtime and the sun was shining, not a cloud in the sky.

I had it set for my long/lat and it was belting down but  not in Stellarium world. I have decided to move there permanently.

Marv

[uhb1966]

On 28/10/2023 at 17:46, SteveNickolls said:

The outlook for the future is wet and average temperatures for the time of yeaar.

If anyone is interested in weather forecasting this site is worth subscribing to-

https://m.youtube.com/@GavsWeatherVids

Xheers,

Steve

Very interesting !

[uhb1966]

On 04/11/2023 at 12:56, Nigella Bryant said:

Noooooooo, I'm a solar observer, lol.

H-Alpha, right?

[uhb1966]

FWIW, there might be a 3-hour cloudless window tonight - fingers crossed!

[Gonariu]

On 04/11/2023 at 22:51, Nigella Bryant said:

We are nearing solar maximum so more activity than usual. However there's always something different to observe with our own star on the doorstep. 

Real! If there is something I look at with a certain consistency it is the Sun, I use a Konus Vista with a glass solar filter at full aperture, an old Vixen 8-24 zoom, a W58 green filter, a special notebook, pencils and tires. I spend a pleasant half hour making the drawing.

[Nigella Bryant]

On 11/11/2023 at 11:06, uhb1966 said:

H-Alpha, right?

Full disk is H-Alpha the sunspot is white light. 

[900SL]

It's been cloudy here since the 20th October. Not a single hour of clear skies. I'm getting increasingly irate 😀

[M40]

I'm going to have to stop buying stuff at this rate.......

[Nigella Bryant]

1 hour ago, M40 said:

I'm going to have to stop buying stuff at this rate.......

I've not known an autumn like it 😭

[tomato]

I hope it improves a little after the 25th or there are going to be a lot of frustrated folks who received a telescope for Christmas.

[bosun21]

Looking at the reports etc it seems like this dismal weather is all over the UK. It’s been weeks now since I’ve been able to glimpse a clear sky. I’m still waiting for first light with my new scope, but I guess we’ll all just have to grin and bear it 😔.

[Mr Spock]

Aw man... this aint happening man this aint happening...

That's the whole month with no observing 😡😡😡

[WolfieGlos]

Grabbed 1.5 hours tonight, and that was it. The forecast was right with clear skies…just not the length of time.

Like everyone else, this autumn and winter has been dreadful, and our forecast is the same going forwards; dire, cloudy and depressing. I bought an Asiair in the Black Friday sales, intended to start using it after finishing my current imaging target but it’ll be April before I get to try it.

15 hours ago, M40 said:

I'm going to have to stop buying stuff at this rate.....

If it works in reverse, do you want to try sending some back 🤣

Edited December 20, 2023 by WolfieGlos

[DaveS]

From the MO forecast I thought I had the chance of 6 hours plus of clear sky last night so set up a sequence for a couple of targets, HCG 10 for 3 hours RGB and 3 hours Lum, then HCG 35 for 3 hours Lum just on the off chance. Got as far as 1 hour Red and the first 10 min Green then the cloud rolled in and the rain alarm was showing showers so called it a night.

[The Lazy Astronomer]

Well I'm not sure where you guys all live, but just to buck the trend here, I had my third clear night of the month last night. The forecast was pretty sketchy, so only set up to conduct some tests, but all the clouds just seemed to skip around me all night. Ended up imaging all the way until 2, only stopping when my target moved behind a tree. When I went out to pack up, it was nothing but clear sky all around as far as I could see.

[gregbwfc]

Can I just get this out of the way and apologise for the continuing bad weather.

Just ordered mount, telescope and other shiny things from FLO.

Sorry folks 🤦‍♂️

[yuklop]

Oh, it has been a poor show. I saw the nifty fifty challenge and thought I'm up for that. Spent a happy hour working out how to tape a lens onto the front of my horizon mono, and it's been clouds ever since. Competition is open to the end of Jan I think. Be lucky to get a single sub by then at this rate!! It'll need extending.

[Chaz2b]

On 20/12/2023 at 12:54, The Lazy Astronomer said:

Well I'm not sure where you guys all live, but just to buck the trend here, I had my third clear night of the month last night. The forecast was pretty sketchy, so only set up to conduct some tests, but all the clouds just seemed to skip around me all night. Ended up imaging all the way until 2, only stopping when my target moved behind a tree. When I went out to pack up, it was nothing but clear sky all around as far as I could see.

Someone could get into a whole heap of trouble with talk like that! Lol
I’m thinking of stopping my Cloud Appreciation Society membership….aaaah!

Edited December 27, 2023 by Chaz2b

[WolfieGlos]

Our forecast has it clear from 2am tomorrow morning, with hazy conditions up until then…it’s been clear since at least 21:30 when I looked out the window on the off chance 😳 Straight outside, rig set up and getting data. 

I’m in total shock given the recent run of weather. I hope everyone else has the same 🤞

[cajen2]

I've been out three times to check and there are a few clear patches but with the clouds moving fast I think setting up is going to be an exercise in futility.....

[Paul M]

The 10 day forcast issued by the Met Office today has very high confidence for a persitent High Pressure to take residence over the UK by the weekend.

Cold and dry, but fog is a big risk. You never know, there might be few clear nights to come!

 

 

[WolfieGlos]

1 hour ago, cajen2 said:

I've been out three times to check and there are a few clear patches but with the clouds moving fast I think setting up is going to be an exercise in futility.....

It was perfect for an hour, then it was a few gaps between clouds…and that was it sadly. I probably jinxed it by making that post 🫣 

However, being outside keeping an eye on clouds for a while I saw a few meteors including the brightest meteor I’ve ever seen at 23:50, streaking for about 7 or 8 seconds, slowly through the head of Pisces. I had a huge smile for about 5 minutes afterwards, despite looking at clouds!

Fingers crossed the forecast for the next 10 days is as Paul has said.