Clouds - Is it just me ?

Hello Group ,


Merciful heavens , is it just me or has there been
more cloud cover the last two or three years than say seven or eight
years ago ?
I have had only four good ( that is completely clear
with the Milky Way standing out brightly against the dark background
,very little haze) nights in the last five months . This does not
count the nights when it clears up after say 11:00 PM when I call it
quits ( when I wake and find it clear )for the night . True ,I do not
keep a record of the sky conditions but this is the way it seems to me
..
Am I all wet here , what do you all think about this ?

Leonard

Leonard wrote:

Hello Group ,


Merciful heavens , is it just me or has there been
more cloud cover the last two or three years than say seven or eight
years ago ?
I have had only four good ( that is completely clear
with the Milky Way standing out brightly against the dark background
,very little haze) nights in the last five months . This does not
count the nights when it clears up after say 11:00 PM when I call it
quits ( when I wake and find it clear )for the night . True ,I do not
keep a record of the sky conditions but this is the way it seems to me
.
Am I all wet here , what do you all think about this ?

Leonard
Contrails.

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/fob1.asp

scurry wrote in message



Hi Scurry ,

The contrails thing is interesting and seems to
be part of the problem . Thanks Leonard

Hello Group ,


Merciful heavens , is it just me or has there been
more cloud cover the last two or three years than say seven or eight
years ago ?
I have had only four good ( that is completely clear
with the Milky Way standing out brightly against the dark background
,very little haze) nights in the last five months . This does not
count the nights when it clears up after say 11:00 PM when I call it
quits ( when I wake and find it clear )for the night . True ,I do not
keep a record of the sky conditions but this is the way it seems to me
.
Am I all wet here , what do you all think about this ?

Leonard
Contrails.

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/fob1.asp

scurry wrote in message



Hi Scurry ,

The contrails thing is interesting and seems to
be part of the problem . Thanks Leonard

Hello Group ,


Merciful heavens , is it just me or has there been
more cloud cover the last two or three years than say seven or eight
years ago ?
I have had only four good ( that is completely clear
with the Milky Way standing out brightly against the dark background
,very little haze) nights in the last five months . This does not
count the nights when it clears up after say 11:00 PM when I call it
quits ( when I wake and find it clear )for the night . True ,I do not
keep a record of the sky conditions but this is the way it seems to me
.
Am I all wet here , what do you all think about this ?

Leonard
Contrails.

http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20020511/fob1.asp

I don't think it's just you. Here in Denver, for the last several years,
the evening skies right after sunset have been much cloudier than they were
20 years ago.

I have kept somewhat of a log. Twenty years ago I was averaging over 100
observing nights per year. Since 1998, I've averaged less than 65 night per
year. Granted, I don't get as excited and cranked up like I did 20 years
ago, but I'm still quite active so it's not just that I'm not observing as
much.

I do also make note of events such as meteor showers and lunar eclipses that
I miss because of cloudy weather, and I seem to have more noted in the last
10 years than the previous 10.

I've almost gotten to the point that I've considered selling off some of my
stuff because I just don't use it anymore.

Clear skies (yah right),

Francis Marion

I heard recently from ocean/satellite studies that the average ocean
temperatures have increased substantially due to global warming, with a
resultant increase in cloud cover and precipitation over the northern
hemisphere. CO2 concentrations are up from 250ppm? to 380ppm? average, which
could be the cause for the increased ocean temperatures.

RC

(Chris1011) wrote in message ...
I heard recently from ocean/satellite studies that the average ocean
temperatures have increased substantially due to global warming, with a
resultant increase in cloud cover and precipitation over the northern
hemisphere. CO2 concentrations are up from 250ppm? to 380ppm? average, which
could be the cause for the increased ocean temperatures.

RC

Hello Roland ,


Hope you have a nice day ( here its 9:35 EST.) and
a clear night. From what little I have read about CO2 in the
atmosphere it seems to be some what elevated over the last 50 or so
years . And most of this may be due to mankinds use of fossil fuel .
The Earth has gone through many cycles of warmth and cooling ( that
has nothing too do with man )and with many more to come . Somewhere I
read that methane is a much more active greenhouse gas than CO2 and as
the tropical forests are chopped down the area turns to grassland .
Now it seems that termites become more abundant in grassland and they
produce lots of methane gas ! Boy oh boy , the old rock and a hard
place for sure .
In the future man may use the whole Earth as a farm
, from the bottom of the oceans to the upper atmosphere , controling
everything that happends on this planet . Maybe then we can have a
couple of days in a row of clear weather , that is if your request is
placed in time with no spelling mistakes and the Grand Puba grants
your humble request .
Hope it comes soon , just looked out the window and its raining !
Top of the day , Leonard

"francis marion" wrote in message news:MqOUc.183723$eM2.2513@attbi_s51...
I don't think it's just you. Here in Denver, for the last several years,
the evening skies right after sunset have been much cloudier than they were
20 years ago.

I have kept somewhat of a log. Twenty years ago I was averaging over 100
observing nights per year. Since 1998, I've averaged less than 65 night per
year. Granted, I don't get as excited and cranked up like I did 20 years
ago, but I'm still quite active so it's not just that I'm not observing as
much.

I do also make note of events such as meteor showers and lunar eclipses that
I miss because of cloudy weather, and I seem to have more noted in the last
10 years than the previous 10.

I've almost gotten to the point that I've considered selling off some of my
stuff because I just don't use it anymore.

Clear skies (yah right),

Francis Marion


Hi Francis ,

As sad as it is to me ,I have had some thoughts
of selling off some equipment also. I don't want too but it seems a
shame to let it set around when it could be put to use elsewhere and
the money used for some other interest . Its almost at the point of
becoming discouraging .

Leonard

Merciful heavens , is it just me or has there been
more cloud cover the last two or three years than say seven or eight
years ago ?


Up here in the Puget Sound area of the northwest, we are experiencing an
incredibly cloud free summer. . .for a couple of months now, night after
night of clear skies. I suppose payback will come around though, but
tonight it's out with the scope again.


--
Martin
"Photographs From the Universe of Amateur Astronomy"
http://home.earthlink.net/~martinhowell

"Martin R. Howell" wrote in message thlink.net...
Merciful heavens , is it just me or has there been
more cloud cover the last two or three years than say seven or eight
years ago ?


Up here in the Puget Sound area of the northwest, we are experiencing an
incredibly cloud free summer. . .for a couple of months now, night after
night of clear skies. I suppose payback will come around though, but
tonight it's out with the scope again.

Good for you Martin , I wish you many more nights of
good clear skys.
Leonard