High humidity, will it affact astroimaging quality??

[DavidNg (David)]

Hi,

My weather sensor last night recorded 94%.

Will high humidity having a negative effect on image quality? and how high is high?

Thanks
David

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by DavidNg

Hi,

My weather sensor last night recorded 94%.

Will high humidity having a negative effect on image quality? and how high is high?

Thanks
David

Moist cold air will likely drip on your equipment and dew is an issue even with dew heaters. Also high humidity in the air will create a haze fog like which will affect transparency and you might even pick up light pollution more easily depending on your location. All in one it can be a nuisance. Nothing beats a cold crisp winter night IMHO. Every time I went to Wiruna and the weather was wet it was a waste of time. The skies were dark and clear but the transparency was an issue and the end results not worth it. Bloated stars, noise etc...

[asimov (John)]

You haven't explained what TYPE of imaging..

As Marc said about DSO imaging though

In my case, I want high humidity! Bring it on! I do planets & that's when I get my best results, when everything is dripping! Love it.

[leon]

Have to agree with Marc, the colder the night the better, I used to love it when the frost settled during my imaging sessions.

Leon

[Lee]

Originally Posted by asimov

In my case, I want high humidity! Bring it on! I do planets & that's when I get my best results, when everything is dripping! Love it.

Why is that?? Intuitively I would think if seeing is rubbish for DSO, it would affect planetary similarly??

[Paul Haese]

Current humidity level in the observatory is 87% and imaging. That is a good night. Most nights here I get up to the mid 90's and it has not affect the image quality.

[DavidNg (David)]

Thanks everyone for your advice. One less thing to worry about.

David