Lately, practicing astrophotography feels like taking a shower, shaving, then getting all dressed up but with nowhere to go. I turn on the gear, calculate the rise and set time of my target, calculate when the moon rises, calculate how many subs I can get in before dawn, set up NINA and then wait. Roof doesn't open all night. Same the night before, same the next night. This is the way it is, no sense getting frustrated about it. I hope the sky clears before the next full moon cycle begins. Glad I've got some good books to read!
Another Cloudy Night
Well Written Engaging
Gosh Jerry, that's never happened to me. Tell us more about what that must be like. 
)))))
John
)))))John
John Hayes:
Gosh Jerry, that's never happened to me. Tell us more about what that must be like.)))))
John
yeah, not sure what Jerry is complaining about. My MO when it is cloudy is to set up my equipment. I find that the clouds magically part, my normally B6 site becomes B1, and I get sub arc second seeing 😀
Engaging
You guys are making me laugh.
Arun H:John Hayes:
Gosh Jerry, that's never happened to me. Tell us more about what that must be like.
John
yeah, not sure what Jerry is complaining about. My MO when it is cloudy is to set up my equipment. I find that the clouds magically part, my normally B6 site becomes B1, and I get sub arc second seeing 😀
yeah, what is Jerry talking about? when I go outside, my EAF moves in the blink of an eye, my telescope gets launched into space, I have excellent seeing all 365 days of the year, and the clouds encircle me, covering up all of the city, but leaving a hole in the sky for me to image through.
Don' give up the hope, Jerry. Had the very same situation last night: sky was clear at sunset, equipment running like a charm, and the cloud forecast excellent, but as soon as it got dark, clouds moved in, stars in between - too good to give up, but not good enough. At the very end I just got one 3min frame (sic!) out of the night, but enough to clearly show SN2025rbs in NGC7331. https://www.astrobin.com/forum/post/200002/ . Maybe I am more lucky tonight! CS Matthias
Supportive
I went remote. It was either that or leave the hobby. My home site is very bad for astronomy.
Well Written
I hear your pain Jerry. This has been an awful summer for imaging here in Oklahoma, very wet, high humidity, very persistent clouds and a pesky night breeze. This is not a hobby for those who are easily frustrated!
Well Written Respectful
Good old Monsoon Season…
Jerry Gerber:
Lately, practicing astrophotography feels like taking a shower, shaving, then getting all dressed up but with nowhere to go. I turn on the gear, calculate the rise and set time of my target, calculate when the moon rises, calculate how many subs I can get in before dawn, set up NINA and then wait. Roof doesn't open all night.
At least you have a roof
Warm regards,
A traveller
Dark Matters Astrophotography:
Good old Monsoon Season…
I was going to say the same. You're in NM and it's Monsoon Season, pretty typical for this time of year.
Bob Lockwood:Dark Matters Astrophotography:
Good old Monsoon Season…
I was going to say the same. You're in NM and it's Monsoon Season, pretty typical for this time of year.
*sigh
I was watching an old episode of "Space 1999" and thinking about how great a setup would be on Moon Base Alpha !
sky was clear at sunset, equipment running like a charm, and the cloud forecast excellent, but as soon as it got dark, clouds moved in
That happens quite a lot to me.
After 20 minutes of subs, clouds come in, like as if they're timed or something to block me long enough so I don't get any useful data. I obviously will not keep just 20 minutes for a session, so I delete it.
And the clouds clear only when the sun rises.
The scientific explanation would be the "marine layer" - being so close to the coast makes it worse for me, meanwhile, the guys a little bit further inland in SoCal are probably getting more clear nights. Just bad luck to be living here.
Here's an AI summary of why this happens:
- Cold ocean currents: The California Current brings cool water southward from the Gulf of Alaska, chilling the air directly above the ocean surface.
- Temperature inversion: This occurs when a layer of warmer air sits atop the cooler air near the surface, trapping it and preventing it from rising and dispersing.
- Moisture accumulation: The cool air near the ocean surface becomes saturated with moisture through evaporation. When the air reaches its dew point, moisture condenses to form low-altitude stratus or stratocumulus clouds or fog within the marine layer.
- Onshore winds: Sea breezes can push the marine layer inland, bringing cooler, cloudy conditions to coastal areas.
I have seen these clouds so much that, I know exactly which direction the ocean is from my backyard, because they always come from one specific direction.
And yes, also the cloud forecasts are sometimes extremely inaccurate, even with ClearOutside.
Helpful Engaging
I can't remember the last time I opened the roof at SkyPi. 
It was interesting the last time I visited Pie Town. I was gazing at the Milky Way and watching a lightning storm simultaneously. It wasn't clear enough to image, but clear enough that I could make out Rho and other southern Milky Way targets with my eyes. Slightly east of the Milky Way was the lightning storm. It was also clear enough that I could see shadows cast by the Milky Way.
It was interesting the last time I visited Pie Town. I was gazing at the Milky Way and watching a lightning storm simultaneously. It wasn't clear enough to image, but clear enough that I could make out Rho and other southern Milky Way targets with my eyes. Slightly east of the Milky Way was the lightning storm. It was also clear enough that I could see shadows cast by the Milky Way.I began imaging from my house in San Francisco, only a few miles from the coast. It became clear to me (not so clear for the telescope though) that if I wanted to continue with astrophotography I'd have to find another place to shoot from. Driving long distances got tiring after a while, which led me eventually to HCRO in New Mexico. I didn't know the monsoon season affected the higher altitudes as well as the desert areas of NM, but apparently the clouds (minus the high winds) are a part of that seasonal condition even at 7500 feet elevation.
Well Written Concise Engaging
Jerry Gerber:
I began imaging from my house in San Francisco, only a few miles from the coast. It became clear to me (not so clear for the telescope though) that if I wanted to continue with astrophotography I'd have to find another place to shoot from. Driving long distances got tiring after a while, which led me eventually to HCRO in New Mexico. I didn't know the monsoon season affected the higher altitudes as well as the desert areas of NM, but apparently the clouds (minus the high winds) are a part of that seasonal condition even at 7500 feet elevation.
hey neighbor
It still looks like you get 250-300 clear nights a year. That’s a lot better than many of us.
Well Written Respectful Supportive
Chris White- Overcast Observatory:Jerry Gerber:
I began imaging from my house in San Francisco, only a few miles from the coast. It became clear to me (not so clear for the telescope though) that if I wanted to continue with astrophotography I'd have to find another place to shoot from. Driving long distances got tiring after a while, which led me eventually to HCRO in New Mexico. I didn't know the monsoon season affected the higher altitudes as well as the desert areas of NM, but apparently the clouds (minus the high winds) are a part of that seasonal condition even at 7500 feet elevation.
hey neighbor
Are you at HCRO Chris?
Jerry Gerber:
I began imaging from my house in San Francisco, only a few miles from the coast. It became clear to me (not so clear for the telescope though) that if I wanted to continue with astrophotography I'd have to find another place to shoot from. Driving long distances got tiring after a while, which led me eventually to HCRO in New Mexico. I didn't know the monsoon season affected the higher altitudes as well as the desert areas of NM, but apparently the clouds (minus the high winds) are a part of that seasonal condition even at 7500 feet elevation.
Yup, exactly right. It can be very hard to find a clear night from late June to early September. The storms develop over the mountains in the late morning and start marching generally to the northeast.
Well Written
Come September the New Mexico skies will be clear again. It does suck that some of the lower summer targets get missed, but we get 9 months of great imaging time the rest of the year.
Well Written
I imaged from DSW for many years. It sits on a high plateau at around 7,400’. The worst season was during the summer during the monsoons. Warm, moist air from Mexico rolls northward and every afternoon scattered towering cumulus build into a solid overcast by evening. Occasionally major downpours develop and when it hits the observatory, it can produce areas of deep, sucking mud that can trap a car if you try to drive through it. Don’t ask how I know that. The monsoons typically start in early July and extend into early September. The winter brings fog and frost along with periods of world class poor seeing. Spring and Fall have the best seeing but it’s often hard to access through the high thin clouds that often obscure the sky. The notion that the region gets 250-300 clear nights per year must be pushed by someone selling observatory space. Yes, you might be able to see a star once in any given night maybe 250 nights per year but that sure isn’t how many useable observing nights you’ll be able to use. Northern NM isn’t a terrible place to put a telescope but it’s sure not the kind of utopia that many folks seem to think it is. There are a lot of cloudy nights. There are a fair number of nights with fog. During the winter frost is a very real possibility. It is incredibly dusty. The wind will shut you down. I had mice get into my scope. I certainly had a few nights with pretty good seeing but it wasn’t the norm. Still, I had a LOT of fun with my scope in NM. However, now that I have a scope in Chile, it has completely recalibrated my ideas about what “good sky conditions” look like for an observatory.
John
John
Helpful Engaging
John - the 250-300 clear nights a year is from the HCRO website. I considered it for a time as well.
Well Written
John Hayes:
I imaged from DSW for many years. It sits on a high plateau at around 7,400’. The worst season was during the summer during the monsoons. Warm, moist air from Mexico rolls northward and every afternoon scattered towering cumulus build into a solid overcast by evening. Occasionally major downpours develop and when it hits the observatory, it can produce areas of deep, sucking mud that can trap a car if you try to drive through it. Don’t ask how I know that. The monsoons typically start in early July and extend into early September. The winter brings fog and frost along with periods of world class poor seeing. Spring and Fall have the best seeing but it’s often hard to access through the high thin clouds that often obscure the sky. The notion that the region gets 250-300 clear nights per year must be pushed by someone selling observatory space. Yes, you might be able to see a star once in any given night maybe 250 nights per year but that sure isn’t how many useable observing nights you’ll be able to use. Northern NM isn’t a terrible place to put a telescope but it’s sure not the kind of utopia that many folks seem to think it is. There are a lot of cloudy nights. There are a fair number of nights with fog. During the winter frost is a very real possibility. It is incredibly dusty. The wind will shut you down. I had mice get into my scope. I certainly had a few nights with pretty good seeing but it wasn’t the norm. Still, I had a LOT of fun with my scope in NM. However, now that I have a scope in Chile, it has completely recalibrated my ideas about what “good sky conditions” look like for an observatory.
John
That's it. I am calling NASA Monday morning to find out how much they charge to get my 130mm refractor into space. It can't be more than $150,000 a day. Maybe less if they send me up with the scope so I can deal with any issues...
