...apparently.
http://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/s...onomers/108513
Starriest mid-winter in a decade blessing NSW astronomers
Brett Dutschke, Monday July 28, 2014 - 12:26 EST
A by-product of a dry July in northern and eastern New South Wales has been the clearest mid-winter skies in about a decade, revealing stars that some young astronomers didn't know existed.
Apart from the chill, almost every night this month has been near-perfect for looking to the stars and planets.
Winds have generally been westerly, a relatively dry direction, a result of frequent cold fronts crossing southeastern Australia.
The fronts have brought reasonable rain to central and southern inland NSW, much of Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia but for northern and coastal areas of NSW skies have been much clearer due to the winds drying out.
The dry winds have ridded the skies of moisture, revealing stars that would otherwise be shielded by moisture and other atmospheric impurities.
A lack of moisture across the tropics has also meant cloud has struggled to reach NSW.
This has led to the clearest and least humid July skies in 12 years for some of the north, including Moree which is averaging almost nine hours of sunshine per day, one-and-a-half hours more than the long-term norm.
On the coast, Sydney is having its least humid July in 12 years and sunniest July in eight years. Coffs Harbour and Bega are both having their least humid July in seven years.
It is not too late to get a good look at the many stars and planets, even in the relatively hazy big cities such as Sydney where skies are currently almost as pure as in the bush.
For most of the coming week wind will be a dry westerly or southerly and cloud will pass swiftly.
One of the brightest features, Venus, will continue appearing as bright as can be, and on a moonless night actually cast shadows.
