[AZ-Observing] Re: Midwestern Definition of Clear

Tom,

You had better weather than I. My wife and I spent one week in the Detroit
area and one week in Mackinaw. We saw the moon for a total of 10 minutes.
Great to be in AZ.

Frank
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Polakis" <polakis@xxxxxxx>
To: <AZ-Observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2002 8:31 AM
Subject: [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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>

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