Rain, rain, rain...

Seanie et al,

I take pride in our local weather and, yet, our conditions the past couple of months have been similar to those described above. If it is not rain, it is just clouds; if it is not clouds, it is heavy fog; and the story goes on.

Predictions are finally for a couple of clear nights this Friday and Saturday and I suspect I will be going after quick targets (2 hr total exposures) such as open clusters so as to get them now and in time (being seasonal) and I will worry later about longer exposure targets such as the Pleiades, M42 etc. :evil:

It's hoped that high pressure will move in this weekend but the jetstream at the moment is 'zonal' a term given to it being very stable to the south of Ireland, this leaves the door completely open to all these rain & wind systems, nothing you can do but wait for it to move.... :evil:

Keith...

No they were not rained out seanie, unless there has been a pernament low depression sitting over Tullamore. I among many others saw a lovely Orinids display and the Leonids, both on peak nights. Where were you?

Cloudy BOTH nights down here Ron...

It supposed to get better for Saturday and maybe Friday night??
I'm totally sick of this weather, good auld global warming!, I cant remember seeing such wind and rain as I have over the past 6 weeks, its like 60mps winds are normal now, almost like a semi-permanent kind of storm..

I concur with all of the above. I've almost forgotten what my scope looks like. I've only been out twice since October, and even then I was blown out of it and it clouded over after a couple hours.

In one of Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently books, there is a truck driver who has named and numbered over 150 different types of rain, no matter where he goes it rains. It turns out that he is a rain God and clouds just like to be close to him. He must be resting up in Ireland at present, I wonder if we could club together and pay him to go on very long delivery- I suggest M42, plenty of clouds there :lol: