Climate change - Threat to Astronomy?

Nasa images show climate change from space.

Could this be a threat to astronomy?

Eamonn A

www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scienc...andnum=1197408215093

I think Eamonn we have already 'experienced' this threat. Of course, it is not a detrimental effect on us Astronomers, but yet we can't help feeling that, since Autumn 2006, we have been cheated greatly in this part of the world. Weeks at a time and only being able to count the better clear nights on one hand in some cases.

Well, that's my view on it anyway, I don't know about the rest of you.

Seanie.

Indeed Seanie - it seems to me that the greenhouse gas we need to be worrying about is Water vapour, not CO2. Whilst I'm not convinced that the one causes the other, or that either is man-made (see Martain Global Warming), I am convinced that there is less clear sky than there was when I came here in 2003.

We've had abysmal skies from October 2006 right through until the start of this year. In particular, in the Belfast region there wasn't really a clear night from October 2006 until March 2007.
What I have noticed is more localised micro-climates, with areas like Mid-Down being clear far more often, and cloud just magically appearing on the close approaches to Belfast, from the north, west and south.
However, the clear nights...the ones that aren't spoiled by moonlight....can have pretty poor seeing. I think I've had two decent seeing nights this past year..and most of it seems to be simply down to airborne moisture, with an visible textural grainy quality in the air.
It's a difficult hobby to keep up with so few opportunities, many of them unexpected and last minute at that. In addition, weather forecasting can be completely at odds with the local conditions.
I've been out in clear skies with 100% cloud predicted, but more often the inverse.