Current Weather Conditions at Redshift Observatory
(Data from Davis Vantage Pro 2 Weather Station – Mountain Time)
Current Sky and Weather Conditions near Redshift Observatory Astronomical Time
(Button Color Code: Green – Weather; Blue – Astronomy; Red – Fire)
10-Day Forecast Redshift WU Forecast SW US Radar NM Doppler Radar Lightning NOAA Nat'l Forecast
NOAA Jet Stream Water Vapor Loop New Mexico Skies Daily Sunspot Map Spaceweather Post Seeing Monitor
NMS Clear Sky Chart Dimension Point Redshift All-Sky Young All-Sky Haynes All-Sky Haynes Observatory
New Mexico Fire Info Active Fire Mapping SWCC Fire Maps NWCC Fire Maps Inciweb Fire Maps
Sky Quality Meter
CURRENT SQM DATA AT REDSHIFT OBSERVATORY
The SQM or Sky Quality Meter is an instrument which measures the brightness of the sky. The data can be presented in either MPSAS (magnitudes per square arcsecond) or NELM (Naked Eye Limiting Magnitude). Redshift Observatory data is collected and updated every 5 minutes throughout the night. Acquisition begins and ends at Civil Twilight (dusk to dawn). All times are Mountain Time (US & Canada). For night time skies, MPSAS typically ranges from <18.0 to 22.0 – higher numbers indicate darker skies. NELM (Naked Eye Limiting Magnitude) is the apparent magnitude of the faintest star an observer can discern under given sky conditions. The limiting magnitude depends strongly on variables such as sky transparency as well as the observer’s experience and acuity of vision. NELM can range from 4 to 8 with higher numbers visible only with telescopes.
New Mexico Skies Clear Sky Chart
This chart displays additional sky conditions in the vicinity including cloud cover, [transparency|a measure of how clear the sky is], and [seeing|The blurring and twinkling of astronomical objects like stars due to turbulent mixing in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing variations of the optical refractive index.] with respect to wind, humidity, and temperature. New Mexico Skies is approximately 3/4 mile SSW of Redshift Observatory.
SQM Data Chart
Above is a chart of the Night Sky Brightness data collected throughout the current night with the SQM at Redshift Observatory. The chart shows NELM for the y-axis and time for the x-axis. This shows the relative change in brightness throughout the night with the higher numbers (6+) indicating darker skies. The data is real time at night. As is much of my web site, it is still a work-in-progress (chart and data scripts provided by Rick Young).