The Chisos Basin's Window is a wonderful sight in the daytime as you look through the gap in the mountains and see the Chihuahuan Desert floor extend into the distance.
Then spend an hour with the stars at night to get the true sense of scale and wonder of it all.
The orange glow is from the dust blown up by the wind.
Will the sky be clear?
Our atmosphere extends from the ground to the edge of space, about 60 miles above us. It protects us from the radiation in space and it gives us the air we need to survive.
In addition to the oxygen, nitrogen and other elements that make up the air we breathe, there is a river of moisture up there in the form of humidity, clouds and rain.
70% of the Earth is covered with water and the hydrologic cycle picks up water from the surface of the ocean, it condenses to form clouds which move around the Earth, returns to the ground as precipitation, some flows back to streams, rivers and oceans, then the cycle begins again.
70% of the Earth is covered with water and the hydrologic cycle picks up water from the surface of the ocean, it condenses to form clouds which move around the Earth, returns to the ground as precipitation, some flows back to streams, rivers and oceans, then the cycle begins again.
Image by the National Weather Service
Anything in the air will influence what you can see. Even the haze of air pollution, smoke from California wildfires or Mexico crop burns and the dust carried from the Sahara desert al the way across the Atlantic ocean can have an impact on what you can see and how it looks.
When you want to see the stars, the clearer the sky the better. There is nothing you can do when you get “clouded out” except to enjoy the clouds, go to another location or turn in for the night.
It helps to plan ahead! Try out the links below: