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Ice clouds in Martian arctic
Clouds scoot across the Martian sky in a movie clip consisting of 10 frames taken by the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander.
This clip accelerates the motion. The camera took these 10 frames over a 10-minute period from 2:52 p.m. to 3:02 p.m. local solar time at the Phoenix site during Sol 94 (Aug. 29), the 94th Martian day since landing.
Particles of water-ice make up these clouds, like ice-crystal cirrus clouds on Earth. Ice hazes have been common at the Phoenix site in recent days.
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/phoenix/images.php?fileID=... Clouds scoot across the Martian sky in a movie clip consisting of 10 frames taken by the Surface Stereo Imager on NASA's Phoenix ... more -
Strange clouds spotted at the edge of space
A weirdly wonderful sight appeared to astronauts aboard the International Space Station this summer — thin blue clouds hovering at the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and the void. A weirdly wonderful sight appeared to astronauts aboard the International Space Station this summer — thin blue clouds hovering at the... more
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Ghost ship fleet could be a silver lining in clouds of climate change
It looks like something out of a Dan Dare comic book, and it might just help to save the world. A scientist at the University of Edinburgh has devised a new weapon in the fight against global warming: a fleet of 1,500 unmanned sailing ships creating wakes that whiten clouds to reflect the heat of the Sun better.
The concept involves vessels powered by a radical rotary-sail technology that could patrol selected areas of ocean, spraying tiny droplets of seawater into existing clouds. The droplets increase the surface area and so whiten the cloud, bouncing more radiation back into space and offsetting the warming caused by burning fossil fuels.
“The beauty of the system is that it runs on wind and seawater,” said Stephen Salter, author of a paper published today in the Royal Society's Philosophical Transactions. “You can apply the effect locally, to cool down the Arctic or the seas around coral reefs. It would give us complete control. We could even take ourselves back to a little ice age. The effects can be turned up or down, or shut off completely if something unexpected happens.”
The cloud ships will be propelled by the wind, using a rotational aerodynamic force not used in ships for 80 years. The “Magnus Effect” was first observed by Sir Isaac Newton while watching tennis players use spin to change the trajectory of their shots. In 1926 a rotor-ship designed by Anton Flettner crossed the Atlantic, but the technology petered out in the Great Depression. Modern materials and the high cost of oil have sparked a revival: earlier this month Enercon, a German energy company, launched the first rotor-powered cargo vessel.
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More at link. It looks like something out of a Dan Dare comic book, and it might just help to save the world. A scientist at the University of Edinb... more -
Beijing smog worries athletes
A murky haze hovered over Olympic venues in Beijing on Tuesday, sparking concern among athletes that it could affect their performances, but Games bosses insisted the dangers were being exaggerated.
With just three days to go before the opening ceremony in the Chinese capital, visibility was again poor near the main venues despite drastic measures to reduce the city's notorious smog.
Some weightlifters, whose events take place indoors, warned that the pollution could affect their performances, while some athletes were seen arriving at Beijing airport wearing gas masks.
"Very bad," Turkish junior world weightlifting champion Sibel Ozkan told AFP, covering her nose and mouth with a cupped hand, when asked about the pollution.
Indonesian weightlifting team official Syafraidi Cut Ali said his squad were under strict instructions to stay in the open air as little as possible.
"We stay in our bedrooms and the dining rooms, not in the open," Ali said. "It is a problem." A murky haze hovered over Olympic venues in Beijing on Tuesday, sparking concern among athletes that it could affect their performance... more -
Rain will not be allowed to dampen this Olympic flame.
As opening day for the 2008 Summer Olympics draws near, thousands of Chinese villagers are in training. Loading up artillery shells and readying rocket launchers, they await a call to arms.
The villagers aren't part of some civilian security corps. They're part of China's weather modification program. Their mission: to shoot dust into threatening clouds in advance of the opening ceremony Friday in Beijing
Rain will not be allowed to dampen this Olympic flame.
China is home to one of the oldest, largest and most costly weather modification programs in the world.
In a presentation to climate scientists in Japan, Dr. Zhanyu Yao of the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences recently described the scale of his nation's weather-changing effort: China has 37,000 people, 7,000 artillery guns and 4,700 rocket launchers in place, working in tandem with provincial leaders, meteorologists and radar stations throughout the country. It spends about $63 million a year on the program and claims a benefit worth $1.71 billion a year.
The weather modifiers slake thirsty crops, ward off damaging hail and weaken lightning storms through strategic cloud seeding, spraying dry ice, liquid nitrogen or silver iodide depending on the circumstances, he said.
The technology has been studied worldwide since the 1950s, from Russia to Saudi Arabia, and despite the difficulty of proving its effectiveness, it's still employed, with some controversy, in western states such as North Dakota and California. The debate is always whether cloud seeding made the weather, or the whims of Mother Nature did. Daniel Breed, a project scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research, believes the technology can work in certain situations, but not with great precision.
"You can increase precipitation from one individual storm by as much as 50 percent," Breed said. It's also possible to affect the size of hailstones and break up fog banks, he said.
So why hasn't Florida used it to fill up parched Lake Okeechobee or put out forest fires?
Local meteorologists say the technology is ill-suited to Florida's warmer clouds. Plus, it's expensive and fraught with liability potential.
It works best in places where the clouds lack a necessary ingredient for rain or snow: tiny particles that water molecules can grab onto.
China's official meteorologists say there's a 50 percent chance of precipitation. The Games begin as the region's rainy season winds down. As opening day for the 2008 Summer Olympics draws near, thousands of Chinese villagers are in training. Loading up artillery shells an... more -
10 rarest cloud formations caught on camera
Clouds fill the skies above us, are part of our every day lives, but often go unnoticed.
However, there are some clouds that are so rare that you will be very lucky to see them in your lifetime.
This is a list of the top 10 most rarest cloud formations that for those lucky enough to see them, were caught on camera. Clouds fill the skies above us, are part of our every day lives, but often go unnoticed. ... more -
Mesmorising lenticular clouds
Lens-shaped clouds that form at high altitudes. A simply stunning collection of lenticular clouds.
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It's so hot in New York, Yankee fans boo the sun, and cheer the cloud...
That's just how hot it was in New York on Monday...
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Mysterious skies
The roof of our planet is amazingly mysterious as this collection of photos show.
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No, that really is a Disney logo in the clouds
As if advertising hasn't gone far enough, one company has figured out how to make clouds in the shape of corporate logos.
You know, because we weren't bombarded by enough advertising already. As if advertising hasn't gone far enough, one company has figured out how to make clouds in the shape of corporate logos. ... more -
Top 20 Coolest Clouds Caught on Camera
Clouds come in many shapes, sizes and colours. Some clouds resemble images, some are simply stunning. This is a list of the 20 coolest clouds caught on camera. Clouds come in many shapes, sizes and colours. Some clouds resemble images, some are simply stunning. This is a list of the 20 coolest... more
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Imagination no longer needed for cloud gazing
More often than not I applaud clever advertising schemes. This is the not.
Some evil advertising genius has come up with a way to ruin one of the most essential of human experiences. The name of this frankenstein is "Flogos." Flogos are logo's that are comprised of soap bubbles and take to the sky resembling clouds.
The children of the future will no longer need to use their brains to get enjoyment out of clouds, and will probably want a big mac or a new pair of nikes after just a few minutes of looking at the SKY of all things.
Ad gurus, here's some new frontiers : Eyelids, wombs, rocks (prolly already on top of that one), fingernails and while we're at it lets train fireflies to spell out the General Electric logo and breed all new puppies to have the Mickey Mouse symbol on them.
(I really hope I didn't just give someone some ideas)
http://www.flogos.net/
This is sickening. More often than not I applaud clever advertising schemes. This is the not. ... more -
'the time machine' behind scenes timelapse shoot
behind scenes timelapse for 'time machine' straight8 competition shoot.
music by Rory Nunn
visual-hybrid.co.uk
myspace.com/rorynunn behind scenes timelapse for 'time machine' straight8 competition shoot. music by Rory Nunn visual-hybrid.co.uk ... more -
Curious Cloud Cover
Cloud-gazing is a favourite hobby of mine. Sometimes it requires a wild imagination to make out shapes and objects within the puffy whiteness. And sometimes the clouds take on a life of their own... Like these ones. Have you ever seen clouds like these? Take a look! Cloud-gazing is a favourite hobby of mine. Sometimes it requires a wild imagination to make out shapes and objects within the puffy wh... more
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2,000,000,000th Picture on Flickr
It was taken in front of Market City in Chinatown Haymarket in Sydney.
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