On Tuesday, October 15, Steve Dittmar of the Mid-Hudson Asronaomical Association will present his technique for amateur astronomy weather forecasting. The talk will be given at 8PM at SUNY New Paltz live and will also be streamed via Zoom.
Planning a night for stargazing can be tough in the Northeastern US. We often find ourselves at the mercy of some of the 4 or 5 different types of air masses that take turns mixing over top of us, not to mention the complications introduced by the Catskills and Adirondacks, the jet stream, lake effect, and even forest fires from thousands of miles away. General weather apps focus on answering simple everyday questions: Do I need an umbrella? Will I need a jacket? Few organize a one-screen view of the variety of data that is useful for astronomy at the depth and resolution you want for it to be applicable to the random remote locations you might travel to. Enter, Astrospheric.
This month, MHAA member Steve Dittmar will do a complete walkthrough of every datum and feature in the astronomy weather forecasting app Astrospheric. Using multiple weather models for hyper-local forecasting, Astrospheric is an excellent and featureful tool to forecast the sky and weather conditions that matter most to astronomers and astrophotographers. It's available as an app for Android and iOS devices as well as through your browser, making it easy to plan your next outing. Better still, Steve will explain how official MHAA members can access the pro edition features for free.
Steve is a cheesehead from Green Bay, WI, but grew up appreciating the night sky in the "real" upstate NY. He's a software engineer by day, MHAA member and volunteer by evening, and amateur astrophotographer by night. Steve has been enjoying astrophotography since 2014 and will have just returned from his third year as an instructor at the Adirondack Sky Center and Observatory's astrophotography workshop. He is a frequent volunteer at MHAA outreach events, has created and manages the MHAA website, and is a member of our steering committee.
The live event will immediately follow the regularly scheduled business meeting of the Mid-Hudson Astronomical Association which starts at 7:30. A link to the Zoom event will be sent to participants registered. To register go to midhudsonastro.org and select "ATTEND" at the association's Meetup site. The zoom link will be sent to those registered by the day of the event. To attend only the presentation join in before 8 PM and you will be admitted to the final minutes of the association meeting. The presentation will begin at 8. To attend both events join in or attend live by 7:30. The talk will be recorded so that it can be viewed later by anyone who cannot attend.
Participants may call or text Tim Denman at 845-245-5483 for assistance or for further details.