URGENT: Save SkippySky

[ballaratdragons]

I hope this isn't viewed as a commercial post as I believe it isn't.

:eyepop: Skippy Sky website, the Astronomers friend, has run into problems and needs someones help immediately.

There is a scrolling message across the website and the sites functionality has ceased.
SkippySky needs a host urgently!
Hopefully someone with lots of free webspace can run in and save SkippySky.

If you can help, there is an email address in the scrolling message on the site.
http://skippysky.com.au/

[multiweb]

Seems to run fine here. :shrug: Although I've noticed the dates and data are all wrong. Not sure what's going on.

[Tandum]

I see the banner on the home page. Finding someone to host 70gig of data and growing will be no mean feat :(

[snowyskiesau]

I'd be complaining to the hosting company if I were them.

The webhosting company I use also claim to offer unlimited disk space. Perhaps I'd better check their definitions page to see what unlimited really means.:)

[ballaratdragons]

Yeah, it's like they need a business to sponsor them.
To pay for a huge webspace.

[Jen]

:eyepop: oh no not Skippy i use that site sometimes too ;) hope it gets better :)

[erick]

What does he mean by "archives ceased"? Was he keeping available online all past data as well? Is that the data storage problem he ran into? Hopefully the website, as we see it today, is not causing his hoster a problem?

[mswhin63]

It is a shame that they advertise unlimted. Typical of most data company even telcos to offer unlimited and then say acceptable user policy applies, which basically means not unlimited.

Good luck Skippysky hope you can get something.

[multiweb]

Yes it is common practice. Unlimited emails (meaning aliases), databases, space, etc.etc... Those false/misleading claims really drive me nuts. :rolleyes: Saw the banner now. I never go on the front page, bookmarked the Oz map.

69GB is far from 'measly'. Web space is precious. I don't know how their system exactly works but I noticed the bitmap generated are PNGs which can be quite big in size depending on the bit depth used. I don't know if or why the data needs to be archived. Traffic would be the main issue for getting this all free too. :shrug:

[andrew_d_cool]

Hi All,

I started archiving the SkippySky maps because

1. I had "Unlimited Space", or so I thought, and
2. Someone might find the database useful.

In fact, after the recent Solar Eclipse, I was contacted
by a guy from NASA looking for a map of he conditions at the time
of the Eclipse, and I was able to provide this.

69GB in my line of work is but a trifling piece of snot.
The fact that it was available from my website as required, and was
*not* a backup of data files, to my mind made it a valid
use of unlimited space, complying with their user policy.

I use PNG files with a maximum of 64 colours. The files are typically
about 50kB in size for ease and speed of downloading, whilst
retaining legibility.

And please do remember that the GFS model produces an *average* of conditions for each 3 hour block. The maps you see are not a snapshot of conditions at say 2130, but an average of conditions from 2130..0030.

Animate the images by flicking through them, and watch the trends in the data. Think about what's likely to happen based on your knowledge of your locale.

The Seeing Index is a fairly simple weighting of wind speed at 10metres and at the Tropopause. Professional astronomers use readings taken every metre or so through the atmosphere, from which they construct a turbulence profile that they relate to arcsecond seeing. The GFS model does offer 26 layers through the atmosphere, but I can't afford to download all that extra data , at least not until you buggars start
paying for your weather forecasts... ;-)


Cheers,

Andrew Cool (co-author and webmaster of SkippySky)

[ballaratdragons]

Hi Andrew,

Glad you were able to get up and running again so soon. I noticed the site was ok the next day :thumbsup:

Thanks for SkippySky. It is an invaluable tool.

[mswhin63]

Hi Andrew,

If have a way of accessing the data to the internet instead of archiving then the whole problem would go away.

By having access online doesn't break the restriction.

[bartman]

Thanks Andrew!
I look at your site b4 I walk out the door!
Sponsorship?
BTW there is a little scope just above what looks like Yanchep in the Pingelly map.Is that a new station?
Bartman