The publishers of Astrospheric have announce a new model in Astrospheric’s cloud ensemble: The National Blend of Models (NBM). The NBM is a state-of-the-art blend of over 40 models from around the world, including the European model (ECMWF) and NOAAs High Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR). The NBM updates every hour and forecasts 36 hours into the future.
The National Blend of Models (NBM) is a nationally consistent and skillful suite of calibrated forecast guidance based on a blend of both NWS and non-NWS numerical weather prediction model data and post-processed model guidance. This update makes Astrospheric a one stop shop for viewing all major cloud models.
Astrospheric has also recently announced the availability of Astrospheric Data APIs to allow programmatic access to the weather models and astro-variables used on the company’s service.
As the Astrospheric publisher’s note, “We’ve been surprised (and excited) that a the Astrospheric Data APIs has been one of the most requested features from our users so that they can integrate weather data into their workflows and dashboard. We’ve put together a website of documentation and examples: API documentation. Please note that a Pro membership to Astrospheric is required to call these APIs. At this point we’re making most of the data from we use from the RDPS model plus Astrospheric’s Transparency and Seeing data available.”
Astrospheric’s primary purpose is to offer an advanced weather forecasting service for North American astronomers. Using the astronomy data produced by the Canadian Meteorological Center, NOAA, NCEP, and more, Astrospheric quickly produces a highly accurate 48 hour forecast for any location in the United States or Canada.
In addition to the availability of the Astrospheric Data APIs, Astrospheric also recently announced a new set of features they have been building specifically for astronomy clubs. The new service is called “Subspace” which gives astronomy clubs the ability to communicate, share information and plan events.
The new Subspace service is completely free to use. Simply go to the Astrospheric website or app and sign up for an existing club group or create a new one. The service offers the ability to show up on Astrospheric’s map for all users to see; stay in touch with your friends and fellow society members with chat and image sharing and create public events visible to all Astrospheric users.
Perhaps one of the most interesting features is the ability for astronomy clubs to offer free Astrospheric weather alerts for all of their members – letting the entire club know about upcoming good observing conditions.
You can learn more here.
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