These
Clear Sky Clocks
attempt to show at a glance the forecasted visibility factors (clarity and darkness) for a particular
observing site over the next 48 hours.
The
display is designed specifically for amateur astronomers. The input for
these panels comes from weather models run by the Canadian
Meteorological Centre. They run a weather simulation every four
hours. The numerical output feeds the panels below but can also generate
forecast maps that look like satellite pictures.
You
can read the clocks just as they are on this page. However, clicking on
a clock will bring up a "legend page" with supporting
information for the clock and live links to other data. To see a
forecast map click on
the 'cloud', 'transparency' or 'seeing' block on the legend page. You
can choose to animate the forecast map and see the weather pattern
swirling around. At the moment the Canadian Meteorological Center
appears to have a problem figuring out what time it is in Cottonwood,
but I dare say that will pass.
How to Use the
Clocks: You
can find a detailed explanation of how to use the clocks at on the
legend page at http://cleardarksky.com/c/CttnwdAZkey.html.
Thanks to Attilla
Danko for writing the scripts that create these images and for
accommodating our request to create a clock for Cottonwood.
