[Chaos-l] Jordan Lake Clear Sky Clock inaccurate?

[Michael Hrivnak]

Tonight was mostly a bust.  As the sun was setting, things seemed to be 
clearing up.  As it played out, the clouds got worse as it got dark.  They 
finally started lifting around 10:30, just as I was finishing packing up of 
course.  I hung around a bit and checked some things out with my binoculars, 
but the seeing was terrible even after the clouds were mostly gone.  Right 
now, the humidity is 84%, and the weather radar shows a big blob of green 
covering half the state, even though I can see tons of stars.

It's not all bad through.  We got a respectable view of Saturn.  4 moons were 
easy, and at one point I saw a 5th.  During a brief window of clarity, we had 
a nice view of the Beehive cluster.  Steve taught me how to use a Cheshire 
eyepiece for collimation.  I got familiar with the spring sky, so next time I 
go out I'll be ready to start finding objects.  And lastly, I verified that I 
can fit the whole scope, complete with a 3-step stool and all the other junk, 
into my Civic.  This time I managed to pack it all up in a way that doesn't 
reduce my visibility almost at all.

Thanks to Robert, Cameron, and Steve for giving it a good try on a week night.  
Hopefully another night soon will treat us better.

Michael

On Wednesday 09 April 2008 17:42:12 Michael Hrivnak wrote:
> Game on!
>
> There's major clearing to the SW, and satellite imagery confirms that it
> should be mostly clear within the next few hours.  I'll arrive between 7:30
> and 8pm.  Astronomical twilight isn't until 9:13, so plan accordingly.  If
> the sky is even tolerable, I'll probably be out quite late.
>
> Michael
>
> On Wednesday 09 April 2008 15:47:56 Michael Hrivnak wrote:
> > According to the clear sky chart, it should be <10% cloudy right now.
> > Looking at the sky in NW Raleigh, I'd estimate it to be about 95% cloudy
> > right now.
> >
> > Yikes!  I'll send an email to the list when I make a go/no go decision
> > for tonight.
> >
> > Michael
> >
> > On Wednesday 09 April 2008 15:08:45 Kumar Pandya wrote:
> > > Hello friends,
> > >
> > > Is it my imagination, or is the Jordan Lake Clear Sky
> > > Clock way off for the past day or two?  For example,
> > > it predicts today to be virtually clear with no
> > > clouds, while in reality its been pretty overcast all
> > > day so far.  In my experience, the Sky Clock has
> > > generally  been very reliable.  Would others agree
> > > about the discordance between the Jordan Lake Clear
> > > Sky Clock prediction and reality for today?
> > >
> > > THanks!
> > > Kumar
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