Welcome to the

Clear Sky Alarm Clock

Weather forecasts for astronomers delivered directly to your in-box.

Clear Sky Alarm Clock FAQ.

Who should I thank for these amazing forecasts?

The Clear Sky Charts were invented by Attilla Danko. I take no credit for his ground breaking work of interpreting the astronomy forecasts of the Canadian Meteorological Center in a manner that makes them very easy to use. Neither myself nor Attilla take any credit for the forecasts themselves. These amazing forecasts are the product of the Canadian Meteorological Center and are simply amazing. My contribution is to provide a way for the Clear Sky Charts to be actively delivered to an astronomer's email box. We are all in great debt to the services provided by Attilla and the CMC.

Why do I have to respond to an email to get into the site?

When I wrote the first Clear Sky Alarm Clock I discovered that even if I asked people to type in their email address twice, I still get lots of invalid email addresses and lots of email blocked by spam filters. In an effort to make the site manage itself, I now require that you respond to an email invitation. This accomplished 3 things: the email address you type in must be valid, your spam filters must allow the emails in, and no one can sign someone else up. The last point is required as a result of the US CAN-SPAM act of 2008. The emails from this site come from csac@casazza.net. Please configure your spam filters accordingly.

Why don't you reply to replies to the alarms?

Unfortunately, I get so much spam at that address that I simply have no way to find legitimate messages. I have set up a new email address that is prominently displayed on the top of each page. That address is displayed in a manner that requires a human to read to be able to use it.

I can't log in!

First, go to the Sign In/Sign Up Page. Try to sign up, by providing your email address and a password. If you get a message that you are already a member, use "Forgot password" feature on the log in page. The site will assign your account a new password and email the new password to you. Once you receive the email, sign in and change your password to something you prefer.

I've logged in, now what?

Once you provide your email and password you will be taken to the site's main page. The top part of the page gives you a place to manage your subscriptions to different Clear Sky Charts. The lower half of the page holds personal information. You are under no obligation to provide any more information than you wish. Each field's title is a link to a help page. If you have any questions about what is being asked, chick the field's title. The first thing you need to do is add a clock subscription to your membership. This will attach a Clear Sky Chart and the required conditions to trigger an alarm to your email address.

I observer the moon when it's up; what do I do?

There are many options for each Clock's subscription. One of them pertains to the moon. If you find the moon to be nature's light pollution, you can avoid getting teased with alarms when the moon is out. If, however, you observe the moon when it is available, you can set the Maximum Lunar Altitude to 90° and the Maximum Percent of Full to 100%. As on the main page, each field's title is a link to a help page. If you have any questions about what is being asked, chick the field's title.

Can I get alarms for multiple clocks?

Yes! That was one of the major improvements in this version. You can subscribe to as many Clear Sky Charts as you like. Keep in mind that you will receive an email alarm for each clock with acceptable conditions.

Can I get alarms to multiple email addresses?

Not yet. This was in the original design, but got put off for future enhancements. For now, you will have to set up multiple memberships under each email address. In the future, your will be able to specify an over-ride email address and format for each subscription.

Why is the cloud forecast different from Attilla Danko’s Clear Sky Chart?

Attilla generalized the forecast provided by the Canadian Meteorological Center. They provide a forecast accurate to 5%. In other words, their forecasts go from 0% to 5% to 10% etc. Attilla reduces this to 8 categories for easy display. Since display is not my concern, I use the full precision that is contained in the forecast.

Why can't I click the email address at the top of the page or cut & paste it?

Spammers have programs that browse the web looking for mailto links and email addresses in plain text. That is why I have changed the email address for reporting problems for the new site. I get about 100 pieces of spam at the old address every day. I found myself missing important emails in the the process of removing spam with ever more legitimate looking subjects.

Why Google ads?

There is a cost to keep this site operational. I try to keep these costs as low as possible, but I need to allow for income where possible without sacrificing usability. I find that Google is very good at providing appropriate ads and it is my hope that these ads can actually provide useful links to the users as well as a modest amount of income. A portion of the revenue earned from this advertising is shared with Attilla in acknowledgement of the invaluable service his "Clear Sky Clocks" provide.