As a Sydney sider I agree with all the previous posts about the lousy weather.
The past "dark" Moon period was a complete wipeout. The Sydney night
weather has seemed to be going this way for at least a couple of years now.
I am just back from a week at Norfolk Island. No street lights there and
from an absolutely dark site I could revel in the sight of the Milky Way in all its glory - unfortunately by eyeball only!
On a very good night in Thornleigh - Sydney I can just make out a very dim
outline of the Milky way.
Dunno what you lot are complaining about, I grew up in Blighty (don't hold it against me, it wasn't my fault) and cloud cover is the norm, and getting a clear night is a once in a blue Moon event in summer you don't get any astronomical darkness, and in winter any clear nights are crisply below freezing.
Trust me, Sydney is an upgrade last winter I got more clear nights than I would have got in years back there...
I empathise Mike, but can tell you that since the start of summer we have had 7 cloudless nights her in beautiful Devonport, Tasmania. All but two have been too windy to set up.
Just thought I'd share that so you know your not alone.
I empathise Mike, but can tell you that since the start of summer we have had 7 cloudless nights her in beautiful Devonport, Tasmania. All but two have been too windy to set up.
Just thought I'd share that so you know your not alone.
Trev
So, the message I get from that is I needn't bother bringing a scope with me next month when the bride and I are doing a "Tassie in 10 days"drive-around with tents and hiking shoes.
I can generally only get out on a Friday or Saturday night. Lately they've been pretty overcast. Sunday night always seems to be good. But I gotta get up early for work
Looked half decent here for a while this arvo, but the jetstream is pumping and it ended up cloudy anyway. Glad I hit the beer instead. Unfortunately, my cats also decided to hit my 8" dob's mount with their urine aswell. FFS
Autumn is generally pretty nice here, but it's also peak burnoff season. In the past, all those lovely warm clear nostalgic autumn days have been mangled by said burnoffs
Yup, thinking of moving to the mildura area, dark skies galore and pancake flat land to aid laminar airflow and more clear skies than you can point an aggravated Melburnian at. Seen the sky from a houseboat outside nearby Renmark multiple times now... lets just say the moon has its own twilight
Got set up to do some equipment testing last night - there were only scattered clouds around and the forecast on SkippySky looked decent. All the kit was set up, and I'd just finished polar aligning, when a great cloud rolled over. "No problem" I thought, I'll wait 15 min for it to pass (and went back in the house). I finally gave up 4 hours later, and packed up. It's been the story of this season!
I've been watching skippysky over the summer months as like many others I've not been able to do anything since November. It seems rural NSW is the place to be - it seems to be clear most of the time.
There have been a few nights where the clouds cleared for a some hours, but of course without a permanent setup I wasn't able to take advantage of the situation.
Oh can you guys send some clouds this way please it's been so clear here for weeks now I need to catch up on some sleep well now the moons getting brighter I might be able to get some rest hehehe
Just saying....... Ummmmm ok I will sneak out quietly back to my clear skies before one of you kill me hehehehe
Happened again - 30 min to set up + 15 min drift align in preparation for some NB imaging, and then the clouds roll in, despite the assurances from Skippy Sky that it would be clear until 2am. Arrrgggghhhhhhh! Thank the heavens above that I'm now about to build an observatory!
Happened again - 30 min to set up + 15 min drift align in preparation for some NB imaging, and then the clouds roll in, despite the assurances from Skippy Sky that it would be clear until 2am. Arrrgggghhhhhhh! Thank the heavens above that I'm now about to build an observatory!
Weather down here in Melbourne has generally been very good for astro :-) probably crap seeing though.
But it certainly makes you nervous when 3 of my weather sites say good weather and the other say iffy! Of course the golden rule is to always believe the better forecast.
As a relative newbie (I only started last May, what a journey), I've realised that the more expert you are, the more obsessed with the weather and moon phases you become!
in summer you don't get any astronomical darkness, and in winter any clear nights are crisply below freezing.
last winter I got more clear nights than I would have got in years back there...
well now the moons getting brighter I might be able to get some rest hehehe 
