Thank you Paul. Your local knowledge response was exactly what I was hoping for.
Forget skippy sky, I will state right here and I have years of documented proof that it is never right for seeing. I do mean never. It is seldom right for cloud cover, but that is another story. Nice idea, just the base data is not accurate.
I've been getting that impression too but have been reluctant to admit an astronomy weather site would be crap until now. In the bin it goes!
Ensure that your scope is at ambient before assessing the seeing. Often people make assessments of seeing with a scope that has 3 or so hours of natural cooling and this is clearly not enough. Ambient active cooling is another topic but essential for seeing assessments and getting the most out of your optics. Bird and myself have discussed this here and elsewhere.
Agreed. I bought one of those SCT coolers from this mob
http://lymax.com/sct/how.php
but haven't had the chance to use it yet as I'm still getting other bits and pieces together.
Have you heard of experiences with this type of cooler? Logically it would seem to work which was my excuse for buying it!
Greg has highlighted well the topographic factors for seeing. Southerly winds whilst viewing on the plains is not good for seeing. Good if you are south of the range though. Ray in Ardrossan gets good seeing when he gets easterly or south easterly winds. I get good seeing when a high pressure sits over the top of me and sometimes when mild southerlies pass over the ranges.
It's even worse up at Elizabeth. The weather hits the foot of York peninsula and funnels straight over me. If you ever look at a radar map of clouds heading east/north east you'll see it.
Overall though the best indicator for a chance of good seeing is when a high pressure lobs over directly over your observing position. Wind movement will mostly be non existent and the jet stream will be forced away from the high pressure.
Is there a night-time temperature caveat to that? I seem to remember a heat wave a while back where the night temperature was in the upper twenties/ lower thirties and there seemed to thermals everywhere.
Thanks for the websites and advice Paul.
Cheers
Stephen