Telescopes have always been there to help those who want to do more than just staring at the starry night sky. There are several models with different quality and reach, allowing the user to explore to their heart’s content. Now, several obstacles might put a damper on things, clouds being one of them. With this in mind, the question arises: Is it possible for telescopes to see through them? But more on that later.
First off, it is important to know that telescopes can’t see through clouds, mainly because they only receive light, similar to the human eye. Thus, despite having the best reach and quality, they won’t be capable of doing so.
However, this doesn’t mean that no one won’t be able to look for their favorite stars since there are many ways that one can counteract the interruption that a cloud would represent while stargazing. One strategy is to keep a close eye on the weather since the patterns have an impact on the number of clouds in the sky. It might seem pretty evident, but this is crucial to whether the user will be capable of having a look at the celestial beings without a hassle.
Keep an eye on the weather…
Speaking of weather, it cannot be stressed enough how important it is to be on the lookout for any front that might arise since predicting its behavior is a highly strategical option to make sure that there won’t be any problem the moment it is decided to indulge in astronomy.
Hot climates can have a significant impact on how populated the sky will be. The higher the temperature is, the thicker the clouds will become, slowly blocking the user’s view and, depending on the type, can either get the telescope wet or cold.
In some cases, there can even be a cumulus of clouds, which are often present once a storm is about to go down.
When it comes to the warm fronts, they often settle down after a while, which is when the stratus clouds start dispersing. These are prone to cover a vast portion of the sky and tend to last for an excruciating amount of time.
One should be able to have a better view once it starts to disperse, although it remains a bit hazy, making things slightly tricky when it comes to cold fronts, the clouds that are now pouring rise quickly, without mentioning that the weather conditions complicate looking through a telescope, both because of the rain and the quantity of these celestial obstacles that are now blocking the view.
Clouds that clear quickest for astronomy…
However, despite all of this, colder fronts tend to be the best option when it comes to looking through the sky with a telescope, mainly because they tend to leave it squeaky clean, with less haziness than what remains after its hotter counterpart.
On a side note, the experts at Astronomy Rookie recommend being cautious around clouds that are rising vertically and spreading at the top, which means that a storm is coming up. Patience will also be a critical factor in the visibility stargazers will get after a cold front, the reason behind it being the fact that they would have to wait up for the cold front to disperse.
How to know what the weather will be for astronomy?
There are many options to predict all of them. The most traditional way is to look at the news’ weather forecast, but many astronomy weather websites and apps can do the trick just fine.
One thing to keep in mind, though, is that some of them are not precisely targeted for those who want to make sure the sky is clear enough for anyone to pick their gear and spot a planet, star, comet or any other phenomenon that might have caught their eye and are eager to witness.
Rounding up…
With all of this being said, let’s go back to the main subject. It is well-known that common telescopes are optical. They can be very sensitive, and their viewing capacity might be easily affected by weather conditions, such as wind or any other turbulence that might arise.
This is why astronomy enthusiasts should pick a place where there aren’t many clouds at night. However, some telescopes can overthrow these obstacles, mainly because they’re capable of detecting radio waves, which can traverse clouds with ease.
