New forecast tools

Extended Cloud Forecast

This new feature extends the 48 hour forecast by an additional 8 days! The extended cloud forecast is based on of the Global Forecast System (GFS) forecast and is updated twice a day.

The extended forecast will load automatically below the 48 hour CMC forecast. Each forecast block in the extended forecast represents 3 hours and is color calibrated to the same scale as the detailed 48 hour forecast.

0% (clear skies) 50% 100%
L

Aerosol Optical Depth updates (still experimental)

Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) has been a popular map layer since its release a few weeks ago. This update adds two new light wavelengths (440nm and 660nm) to aid in astrophotography planning.

0 to 0.1
Clear
0.1 to 0.2
Average
0.2 to 0.3
Above average
0.3 to 0.4
Some haze
0.4 to 1
Hazy
1 to 2
Very hazy
> 2
Extremely hazy

Wavelengths are reduced by atmospheric pollutants at different rates. Short wavelengths like blue (~440nm) is generally the first to be reduced by pollutants such as smoke, but longer wavelengths like red can still make it through (~660nm). Sometimes a hazy night might still be good for collecting Hydrogen alpha data for your image :)

Enjoy and keep the great feedback coming!