Weather API

Deep Sky Chile Weather API User Manual

The Deep Sky Chile Weather API provides real-time weather and astronomical data, including cloud cover, temperature, wind speed, rain, light levels, seeing conditions, and key astronomical measurements.

Base URL

The base URL for accessing the API is: http://api.deepskychile.com/weather

Endpoint

• GET /weather: Retrieves the current weather and astronomical data, including cloud, rain, light states, seeing, and important astronomical metrics.

Response Format

The API returns data in JSON format with the following structure:

{
    "weather": {
        "cloudwatcher": {
            "clouds": <clouds_value>,
            "temp": <temperature_value>,
            "wind": <wind_speed>,
            "gust": <wind_gust>,
            "rain": <rain_value>,
            "light": <light_level>,
            "switch": <switch_state>,
            "safe": <safe_state>,
            "hum": <humidity>,
            "dewp": <dew_point>,
            "cloudsState": "<clouds_state>",
            "rainState": "<rain_state>",
            "lightState": "<light_state>"
        },
        "ninox": {
            "UTC": "<utc_time>",
            "NSBNow": <current_NSB_value>,
            "SunAltitude": <sun_altitude>,
            "MoonAltitude": <moon_altitude>,
            "MoonPhase": <moon_phase>,
            "ZenithGalacticLatitude": <galactic_latitude>,
            "NightBestNSB": <best_NSB_value>,
            "NightBestNSBTime": "<night_best_NSB_time>",
            "NightBestNSBZGL": <night_best_ZGL>,
            "OverallBestNSB": <overall_best_NSB_value>,
            "OverallBestNSBTime": "<overall_best_NSB_time>",
            "OverallBestNSBZGL": <overall_best_ZGL>
        },
        "seeing": {
            "UTC": "<seeing_utc_time>",
            "SeeingValue": <seeing_value>
        },
        "average": {
            "avgHum": <average_humidity>,
            "avgWind": <average_wind_speed>,
            "avgTemp": <average_temperature>,
            "monitoringStart": "<monitoring_start_date>"
        }
    }
}

Fields

weather The main object containing weather data from four sources: cloudwatcher, ninox, seeing, and average.

cloudwatcher (General Weather Data)

• clouds (float): Current sky temperature in degrees Celsius.
• temp (float): Current temperature in degrees Celsius.
• wind (float): Wind speed in km/h.
• gust (float): Wind gust speed in km/h.
• rain (float): Rain value (unitless).
• light (float): Ambient light level (unitless).
• switch (integer): Lock switch status:

 * 1: Observatories are unlocked.  
 * 0: Observatories are locked.  

• safe (integer): Safety status:

 * 1: Safe.  
 * 0: Unsafe.  

• hum (float): Relative humidity (%).
• dewp (float): Dew point temperature in degrees Celsius.
• cloudsState (string):

 * "Clear": Low cloud cover.  
 * "Cloudy": Moderate cloud cover.  
 * "Overcast": High cloud cover or fully covered skies.  

• rainState (string):

 * "Dry": Rain > 2000.  
 * "Wet": Rain between 1700 and 2000.  
 * "Raining": Rain < 1700.  

• lightState (string):

 * "Dark": Light > 8000.  
 * "Bright": Light between 6 and 8000.  
 * "Sunny": Light <= 6.  

ninox (Astronomical Data)

• UTC (string): Current UTC time, format: yy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss.
• NSBNow (float): Current sky brightness (NSB) value. Lower values indicate better observing conditions.
• SunAltitude (float): Altitude of the Sun in degrees.
• MoonAltitude (float): Altitude of the Moon in degrees.
• MoonPhase (float): Moon phase in percentage (0–100%).
• ZenithGalacticLatitude (float): Galactic latitude at zenith.
• NightBestNSB (float): Best NSB value for the current night.
• NightBestNSBTime (string): Time of best NSB value.
• NightBestNSBZGL (float): Zenith galactic latitude at best NSB time.
• OverallBestNSB (float): Best overall NSB recorded.
• OverallBestNSBTime (string): Time of overall best NSB.
• OverallBestNSBZGL (float): Galactic latitude at overall best NSB.

seeing (Atmospheric Seeing Conditions)

• UTC (string): UTC time of the seeing measurement.
• SeeingValue (float): Seeing value in arcseconds. Lower values indicate better seeing (e.g., 1.0 is excellent, 2.5 is poor).

average (Averaged Historical Data)

• avgHum (float): Average humidity (%) since monitoring began.
• avgWind (float): Average wind speed (km/h) since monitoring began.
• avgTemp (float): Average temperature (°C) since monitoring began.
• monitoringStart (string): Start timestamp for monitoring (yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss).

Example Response

{
    "weather": {
        "cloudwatcher": {
            "clouds": -16.13,
            "temp": 17.38,
            "wind": 4,
            "gust": 5,
            "rain": 5248,
            "light": 57232,
            "switch": 1,
            "safe": 1,
            "hum": 5,
            "dewp": -22.72,
            "cloudsState": "Clear",
            "rainState": "Dry",
            "lightState": "Dark"
        },
        "ninox": {
            "UTC": "2025-05-10 07:04:09",
            "NSBNow": 19.45,
            "SunAltitude": -55.2,
            "MoonAltitude": 29,
            "MoonPhase": 94.8,
            "ZenithGalacticLatitude": 1.9,
            "NightBestNSB": 19.46,
            "NightBestNSBTime": "2025-05-10 07:02:02",
            "NightBestNSBZGL": 1.9,
            "OverallBestNSB": 21.15,
            "OverallBestNSBTime": "2025-05-08 09:00:13",
            "OverallBestNSBZGL": -19.2
        },
        "seeing": {
            "UTC": "2025-05-10 03:16:14",
            "SeeingValue": 1.48
        },
        "average": {
            "avgHum": 26.94,
            "avgWind": 6.8,
            "avgTemp": 19.16,
            "monitoringStart": "2023-05-10 09:11:02"
        }
    }
}

Error Handling

If an error occurs while fetching the data, the API will return a generic HTTP error response (e.g., 500 Internal Server Error).

Example Request

To retrieve the current weather and astronomical data: GET http://api.deepskychile.com/weather

Authentication

Currently, the API does not require authentication. Any future requirements will be documented here.

Conclusion

This API provides detailed weather, seeing, and astronomical data to support stargazing, observatory operations, and long-term monitoring at Deep Sky Chile.