[AZ-Observing] Midwestern Definition of Clear

I have noticed over the years that many amateur astronomers east of the 
Mississippi River are not impressed when I tell them that one night in three is 
clear in Arizona.  Brian Skiff's more than 20 years of data from Lowell 
Observatory show an average of 91 photometric nights and 46 partial nights per 
year.  The numbers aren't much different down here in the deserts, since most 
of the clouds are cirrus.

Last week I was reminded of what would be defined as a "clear" Summer night in 
the Midwest.  Take a look at this sunset picture taken from the shore of Lake 
Michigan:

http://www.psiaz.com/polakis/mi0702/sunset1.jpg

No clouds were visible in the sky, so it would go down as a clear night.  That 
night, I could just barely see all of the stars in the Little Dipper and the 
Cygnus Milky Way, even though the site overlooked 80 miles of nothingness to 
the west.  There were several slightly better evenings in the seven days I was 
there, but only one immediately after a front came through would have been 
marginally acceptable by Arizona standards.

Just some consolation as we look forward to the next couple starless months.

Tom

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