Yeah, with a Moon up Halpha is the way to go and that's come together nicely
I also prefer the framing of the first one.
Re clear skies, I feel like I am getting enough clear sky time up on the mountain but it's often either a big Moon around or I'm not there
Anecdotally at least, based on three years of observations on site and via the CCTV, I recon about 60% of nights are useable, with all or at least part of the night clear..? This is similar to Mt Stromlo Observatory...so I canni complain too much
Mike