Weather

I. Wind and humidity limits to SOAR dome closure:

Steady wind: v < 70 km/h;
Peak gusts: v < 75 km/h ;
RH < 90%, or if there is obvious risk of condensation.

The SOAR Telescope operators will close the dome whenever these parameters reach the limit values, or in cases where blowing dust or passing cloud indicates that closure is necessary even though the formal closure limit has not been reached.

II. Link to current GOES IR (10 microns) imaging of Northern Chile (with movie)

III. Current weather conditions at Cerro Pachon:

IV. Telemetry Data

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The Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) Telescope is a 4.1 meter aperture telescope designed to produce the best quality images of any observatory in its class in the world. It was funded by a a partnership between the U.S. National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the country of Brazil, Michigan State University (MSU) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). SOAR is situated on Cerro Pachón at an altitude of 2,700 meters (8,775 feet) above sea level, at the western edge of the peaks of the Chilean Andes.