The weather
For predicting the Milky Way, you can plan all the factors months in advance: the position of the Milky Way in the sky, the interfering moon and, of course, a dark corner. The most important factor, however, is the weather. If there are clouds in the sky, it is not possible to photograph the Milky Way. If you have to go to some trouble to get to a dark place and you have to stay awake all night to do it, the sky should of course be free of clouds – if not, it was all for nothing!
Earlier you learned that the Galactic Centre is just above the horizon in Europe. You are therefore photographing at an angle and not directly up into the sky. If you now use a conventional weather app where you enter your location, it will only show you the clouds at the location itself. However, the clouds on the horizon can be dozens of kilometres away and still destroy your view of the Milky Way.
For this purpose, VIEWFINDR has developed its own cloud forecast for the night sky. We calculate the clouds in 3D. We look at the clouds not only at your location, but also in the area around it. Hereby we guarantee that you not only have a local cloud gap, but that the sky from one horizon to the other horizon is free of clouds.
Just check in the VIEWFINDR app just before you leave for your Milky Way photo spot to see if our weather parameter “Starry sky” also shows a cloud-free sky. If this is the case, you can set off with peace of mind.
