dumb question

[John]

ok, so I'm thinking of migrating south from New York. Where can I find
statistics that tell me where I can get the maximum sky (darkness and
clearness)? I am SO sick of New York skys and looking at sky events I can't
see month after miserable month. Does the Clear Sky Clock produce and kind
of statistical history? I know this seems a bit anal but I don't want to
pack up and find myself somewhere warmer but not as clear on average.

Thanks!

[ASK]

Regarding darkness...

http://www.inquinamentoluminoso.it/worldatlas/pages/fig2.htm


Maximum clear days is another story...

Best of luck...

ASK


"John" > wrote in message
...
> ok, so I'm thinking of migrating south from New York. Where can I find
> statistics that tell me where I can get the maximum sky (darkness and
> clearness)? I am SO sick of New York skys and looking at sky events I
can't
> see month after miserable month. Does the Clear Sky Clock produce and
kind
> of statistical history? I know this seems a bit anal but I don't want to
> pack up and find myself somewhere warmer but not as clear on average.
>
> Thanks!
>
>

[Mike Jones]

John wrote:
>
> ok, so I'm thinking of migrating south from New York. Where can I find
> statistics that tell me where I can get the maximum sky (darkness and
> clearness)? I am SO sick of New York skys and looking at sky events I can't
> see month after miserable month.

Sick enough to go buy you some property near Quemado, NM or Fort Davis,
TX and do this for real? You want dark and clear, you gots to move way
southwest.

Voice of experience - burned the note in 1993 on 8 acres in the
mountains 6 miles south of McDonald Observatory. Good as it gets.
Mike

[starburst]

Mike Jones wrote:
> Voice of experience - burned the note in 1993 on 8 acres in the
> mountains 6 miles south of McDonald Observatory. Good as it gets.
> Mike

How wonderful! Congrats! I live in Austin. You live in the nicest part
of the state.

Clear skies (as if you need the benediction)-
Chris

[starburst]

John wrote:

> ok, so I'm thinking of migrating south from New York. Where can I find
> statistics that tell me where I can get the maximum sky (darkness and
> clearness)? I am SO sick of New York skys and looking at sky events I can't
> see month after miserable month. Does the Clear Sky Clock produce and kind
> of statistical history? I know this seems a bit anal but I don't want to
> pack up and find myself somewhere warmer but not as clear on average.
>
> Thanks!
>
>

Go west, young man, not south. California, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, New
Mexico, Arizona... Out here it's dry and dry means clear. Warm's got
little to do with it. - Chris

[starlord]

I get someplace between 290 to 325 clear nights a year.


--


SIAR
www.starlords.org
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord


"John" > wrote in message
...
> ok, so I'm thinking of migrating south from New York. Where can I find
> statistics that tell me where I can get the maximum sky (darkness and
> clearness)? I am SO sick of New York skys and looking at sky events I
can't
> see month after miserable month.

[Martin Frey]

"starlord" > wrote:

>I get someplace between 290 to 325 clear nights a year.

Congratulations! You have just ****ed off 18 million people and
qualify for your very own silver bullet...

Seriously - I don't get that many good nights in a decade.

Cheers

Martin

--
Martin Frey
http://www.hadastro.org.uk
N 51 02 E 0 47

[starlord]

In fact yesterday was kind of partly cloudy up until about 3pm, then it
started clearing, but had higher winds. But after nightfall the winds died
down, the clouds where gone and the sky was clear. Had old Babylon 8 out to
say hi to some of myold fav's of the sky. It was cold, but still good.

The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond


--


SIAR
www.starlords.org
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord


"Martin Frey" > wrote in message
...
> "starlord" > wrote:
>
> >I get someplace between 290 to 325 clear nights a year.
>
> Congratulations! You have just ****ed off 18 million people and
> qualify for your very own silver bullet...
>
> Seriously - I don't get that many good nights in a decade.
>
> Cheers
>
> Martin
>
> --
> Martin Frey
> http://www.hadastro.org.uk
> N 51 02 E 0 47

[John]

the last time it was cold (and clear, rare here) it was 3 degrees F. At
temps like that I'm afraid that my mirror will crack.

I'm sick of New York ;-P

"starlord" > wrote in message
...
> In fact yesterday was kind of partly cloudy up until about 3pm, then it
> started clearing, but had higher winds. But after nightfall the winds died
> down, the clouds where gone and the sky was clear. Had old Babylon 8 out
to
> say hi to some of myold fav's of the sky. It was cold, but still good.
>
> The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
>
>
> --
>
>
> SIAR
> www.starlords.org
> Telescope Buyers FAQ
> http://home.inreach.com/starlord
>
>
> "Martin Frey" > wrote in message
> ...
> > "starlord" > wrote:
> >
> > >I get someplace between 290 to 325 clear nights a year.
> >
> > Congratulations! You have just ****ed off 18 million people and
> > qualify for your very own silver bullet...
> >
> > Seriously - I don't get that many good nights in a decade.
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > Martin
> >
> > --
> > Martin Frey
> > http://www.hadastro.org.uk
> > N 51 02 E 0 47
>
>

[John Carruthers]

>starlord" > wrote:

>I get someplace between 290 to 325 clear nights a year.<<

In UK we get the reverse :-(
jc



--
http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/jc_atm/

[starlord]

Well, out here in the High Mojave Desert, this year we had I think it was
maybe 3 nights that got down to 15F, then about a month of down to about 25F
and now it's reaching about 30F at night with days of up around 60F. And
only when rain is coming does my scope get taken in, the rest it's outside
24/7.


--


SIAR
www.starlords.org
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord


"John" > wrote in message
...
> the last time it was cold (and clear, rare here) it was 3 degrees F. At
> temps like that I'm afraid that my mirror will crack.
>
> I'm sick of New York ;-P
>

[Erik]

John,

Stay away from the coasts. Or live at the coast and find yourself a
great darksky spot. If I chose to move only for the purpose of clear
skies, I would move to the Arizona desert outside of Phoenix...

[[email protected]]

Hey Starlord-

How bad are the light domes from Palmdale/Lancaster or LA? I hear
that Palmdale has gotten pretty big since I visted there 15 years ago.
Back then it was just the Air Force and aerospace companies making
F-22s, B-2s, etc.

Matt

BTW, I live 20 miles east of Seattle, that equals lots of clouds, lots
of light pollution. Bah humbug.

starlord wrote:
> Well, out here in the High Mojave Desert, this year we had I think it
was
> maybe 3 nights that got down to 15F, then about a month of down to
about 25F
> and now it's reaching about 30F at night with days of up around 60F.
And
> only when rain is coming does my scope get taken in, the rest it's
outside
> 24/7.
>
>
> --
>
>
> SIAR
> www.starlords.org
> Telescope Buyers FAQ
> http://home.inreach.com/starlord
>
>
> "John" > wrote in message
> ...
> > the last time it was cold (and clear, rare here) it was 3 degrees
F. At
> > temps like that I'm afraid that my mirror will crack.
> >
> > I'm sick of New York ;-P
> >

[[email protected]]

starburst wrote:

> John wrote:
>
> > ok, so I'm thinking of migrating south from New York. Where can I
find
> > statistics that tell me where I can get the maximum sky (darkness
and
> > clearness)? ...

> Go west, young man, not south. California, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming,
New
> Mexico, Arizona... Out here it's dry and dry means clear. Warm's got
> little to do with it. - Chris

West certainly matters more, but south has benefits too. All other
things being equal, the percentage of cloudiness definitely declines
as you approach the Mexican border (or cross it, for that matter).
Moreover, the farther south you are, the more of the sky you can see.
Omega Centauri is nice and high in southern Arizona; not so in Wyoming.
The seeing also improves a lot as you get farther south.

Also, although I prefer a colder climate for daytime activities, I
can't deny that cold and snow are a hassle for astronomy. Of course,
in the West, cold and snow depend more on altitude than on latitude.
But both matter.

To a first approximation, you can guess how dark a place will be
by its proximity to a major population center. The National Weather
Service has statistics on percentage of possible sunshine, which is
an OK stand-in for nighttime cloudiness.

- Tony Flanders

[Howard Lester]

<tony_flanders wrote

> To a first approximation, you can guess how dark a place will be
> by its proximity to a major population center. The National Weather
> Service has statistics on percentage of possible sunshine, which is
> an OK stand-in for nighttime cloudiness.

Not long ago I did a quick 'study' of this and found a significant increase
in days of clear sky just by going as 'near' south as North Carolina, such
as Asheville. This is in comparison to NY and New England. For the maximum
number of clear nights and high transparency, the desert Southwest is best.
But you have to want to be in a terrain that is relatively desolate and
barren compared to the Northeast. It's an incredible place to visit.....