Best time for viewing?

[Luke.]

To all the people that have been doing this for years, have you found there generally a better time of year for photography? Is it just luck all year round?
The way I am thinking is, I would rather put up with the cold than bloody mosquito's!!

[rally]

Where do you live
It can be quite dependent upon your local atmospheric and weather conditions

[Luke.]

Sorry didn't realize I didn't have it in my details, I will update now.
I am in Melbourne.

[Nikolas]

In Melbourne, If you are lucky, you might catch that one day of the year conditions are perfect, after 8 years of trying I'm still waiting.

[MattT]

Luke I'm with you...hate mozzies more than cold.

Sadly Melbourne is the worst place to use a telescope in...well probably the world....truly crap. Move out to any where out of Melbourne for better skies :)

Join ASV and use their dark site if you can...never managed it yet myself due to work...go camping etc

Matt

[Luke.]

Well I am actually about 45 mins south east of Melb so hopefully that makes a little difference!

I am curious as to what is so bad about Melbourne? I can't see the light pollution being better/worse than any other major city?

[raymo]

There are worse places in Australia than Melbourne to use a telescope.
Where I live I get around 30-35 good nights per year, and another 25-30
that are just about usable. Where I used to live, on Tassie's west coast was
much worse than that; sometimes you would not get a glimpse of the sun
for more than a week, and/or non stop drizzle day after day.
Very different to where I lived last century where we got about 310-320
cloudless nights per year.
raymo

[AstralTraveller]

As others have said, any clear night is a good night. Winter has the advantage that you can start earlier. Waiting till 9pm to get going is a drag.

[Atmos]

Melbourne is terrible because it has got to be one of the cloudiest cities in Aus... Not that it rains, just clouds! There was a period last year I believe where I didn't see the night sky for like 4 months!

[mental4astro]

One thing is the weather, another thing is the objects in the sky, and another thing is your preferences.

For some objects, you don't have much choice but to put up with mozzies. Conversely for others you need a freezer suit... You can also look to time things around mozzie season, but that is not always practical. This goes for photo and visual.

Winter sees a steadier atmosphere, making high power more productive. Can be clearer too with less dust. But it can be very cold and demanding on batteries. Summer is more comfortable though it has its own set of drawbacks, it can also be very productive.

If mozzies are a concern, you can look for areas where micro bats are prominent. These tiny aviators can be your best friends to control mozzies. The dark site I frequent has hanging swamps all around it, but in 5 years, I've never had a mozzie bite. The bats deal with them fluttering around us all night. Come to think of it, it's like something out of a Batman movie... :rolleyes: :lol:

You can ask, but in the end you need to bite the bullet, which ever flavour it has.

[FlashDrive]

I find Winter Nights are generally better for viewing.....darker skies, less air turbulence, and cooler and no mozzies.

That's what I find up here anyway....:thumbsup:

Col...

[Atmos]

+1 for winter
I have a 200 amp/hr battery with a 300W inverter sitting on top of it so it never has to deal with the cold :) Keeps it healthier. It does however mean carrying around near enough to my own body weight! 65kg!

As long as you have warm clothing and see control, winter can be quite comfortable.