Reading the night

Cloud cover is not the same as comet weather.

Comets are extended, low-contrast objects. A sky that feels acceptable for planets can be poor for a faint coma, and a nearly clear forecast can still fail because of smoke, humidity, or twilight glow. Treat every forecast as a first draft, then confirm with the sky above your own horizon. The question is not whether stars are visible; it is whether faint diffuse light can survive the path between the comet and your eye.

The most reliable observers build a pre-session habit. They check satellite haze, moon timing, wind, dew point spread, and the exact azimuth of the comet. Then they make a local test: can they see fainter stars than usual near that part of the sky, and can they hold them with averted vision? This is a human measurement, not a number on a screen.