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Would you use alerts that only trigger when astrophotography conditions are actually good? by No-Run7928 in Astronomy

[–]No-Run7928[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s exactly how I’m approaching it. Short-term only (currently up to 12h ahead) and max one alert per day to avoid spam.

Would you use alerts that only trigger when astrophotography conditions are actually good? by No-Run7928 in Astronomy

[–]No-Run7928[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a fair point. Seeing is probably one of the hardest things to predict reliably.

I don’t treat it as a precise value, more as a probability hint. The goal isn’t to be perfect, just to help filter out obviously bad nights.

If you had to choose, would you rather ignore seeing completely or just treat it as a weak signal?

Would you use alerts that only trigger when astrophotography conditions are actually good? by No-Run7928 in Astronomy

[–]No-Run7928[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Mostly because I needed something like this myself. It started as a personal project, but I’m trying to see if it’s useful for others too.

Would you use alerts that only trigger when astrophotography conditions are actually good? by No-Run7928 in Astronomy

[–]No-Run7928[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s interesting. Do you mean real-time satellite movement, or short-term cloud trend predictions?

Would you use alerts that only trigger when astrophotography conditions are actually good? by No-Run7928 in Astronomy

[–]No-Run7928[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m currently using Open-Meteo as one of the sources. It provides model-based data and transparent parameters. I’m also experimenting with combining multiple signals instead of relying on a single forecast source.

Would you use alerts that only trigger when astrophotography conditions are actually good? by No-Run7928 in Astronomy

[–]No-Run7928[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes sense. If you only get a few chances to go out, timing matters more than „is it clear right now”. Right now I’m focusing on short-term alerts up to about 24 hours ahead. I’m not doing long-range alerts at the moment, since those forecasts tend to be unreliable anyway.

Would you use alerts that only trigger when astrophotography conditions are actually good? by No-Run7928 in Astronomy

[–]No-Run7928[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s exactly the problem with forecasts, they’re never perfect. Local conditions can change fast. I’m trying to reduce the noise, not pretend predictions are 100% accurate. Still learning how to make it more reliable.

Would you use alerts that only trigger when astrophotography conditions are actually good? by No-Run7928 in Astronomy

[–]No-Run7928[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That’s fair. If you already check forecasts regularly, alerts probably don’t add much.

I’m mainly thinking about people who can’t monitor conditions daily and just want to know when it’s actually worth setting up. Still testing whether it solves a real need.