Free Republic

From a concert pianist in Korea to a woman suffering from depression in Germany to schoolchildren in Japan, Zach Sobiech touched millions of people around the world with "Clouds," his song of farewell to family and friends. Sobiech was an "extraordinary young man who had the profound ability to make everyone feel better about themselves," said Dan Seeman, vice president and market manager for KS95/Hubbard Radio in St. Paul, who initiated Sobiech's recording of the song. "He embraced his life and challenged each of us to do the same." Sobiech died early Monday at his home in Lakeland, 3-1/2 years...

The storm clouds in Earth's atmosphere are filled with microbial life, according to a new study. The research, published today (Jan. 23) in the journal PLoS One, revealed that hailstones drawn from storm clouds harbor several species of bacteria that tend to reside on plants, as well as thousands of organic compounds normally found in soil. Some of the bacterial species can seed the tiny ice crystals that lead to rain, suggesting they play a role in causing rain. "Those storm clouds are quite violent phenomena," said study co-author Tina Santl Temkiv, an environmental chemist at Aarhus University in Denmark....

Ok so yesterday as I'm driving along I look up and I see a face in the clouds. It's very defined. You can see eyes, a nose, cheeks, etc. First I'll post a picture below without the face circled to see if you can spot it. Next here's a link with it circled for those not able to see. Click here to see the face circled.

LAMONT, Okla. — For decades, a small group of scientific dissenters has been trying to shoot holes in the prevailing science of climate change, offering one reason after another why the outlook simply must be wrong. Over time, nearly every one of their arguments has been knocked down by accumulating evidence, and polls say 97 percent of working climate scientists now see global warming as a serious risk. Yet in recent years, the climate change skeptics have seized on one last argument that cannot be so readily dismissed. Their theory is that clouds will save us. They acknowledge that the...

Green clouds over Moscow spark range of theories Mysterious green clouds have been spotted over the Russian capital, sparking fears of a chemical disaster and even some doomsday theories. ­But the Emergencies Ministry is advising the public to calm down. It says the clouds are actually composed of birch pollen, not of chemicals from an allegedly burning factory in the Moscow region, as some reported. Some people, however, got so scared that even the official comments could not convince them. Russian Twitter users have been posting alarming messages like “Moscow schools are closed because of the blast! Children are sent...

A misty “tsunami” has hit the coastline of Panama City, Florida, USA. A helicopter pilot managed to capture rare phenomenon and has posted breathtaking photos on Facebook. ­JR Hott, who makes his living, flying tourists in a helicopter over the city and the Gulf of Mexico, took photos of clouds of fog developing over buildings while hovering over Panama City’s coastline.

The long, feathery lines of condensation that form behind aircraft, called contrails, have more of an immediate warming effect on the Earth's surface than the carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases that the aircraft emit, a new study calculates. However, the researchers add, contrail clouds disappear within a day or two; the potent greenhouse gas carbon dioxide lingers in the air for many years. Contrails form when the hot, moist plume of exhaust generated by an airplane's engines mixes with cold air in the upper atmosphere. Liquid droplets form and then freeze, forming a straight, white line. Over the span...

After the sun sets on a summer evening and the sky fades to black, you may be lucky enough to see thin, wavy clouds illuminating the night, such as these seen over Billund, Denmark, on July 15, 2010. Clouds bright enough to see at night are not as hard to find as they once were. These so-called night-shining clouds are still rare — rare enough that Matthew DeLand, who has been studying them for 11 years, has seen them only once. But his odds are increasing. [Related: In Images: Reading the Clouds.] These mysterious clouds form between 50 and...

Viewers sent photos of a strange cloud formation over the Sacramento-area skies Wednesday afternoon. The National Weather Service says the phenomenon is called a “hole punch cloud,” which are frequently caused by passing jets.

Good Day, Sunshine: The Happy Image Of A 'Smiling' Sun [Pic in URL] 2nd July 2010 There is a lot to smile about today - it's Friday, it's summer, and Andy Murray is still in the running at Wimbledon (for now). This extraordinary image is just one more thing to be cheerful about. The photograph, which has gone viral on the internet, shows clouds passing in front of the sun - creating what appears to be a smiley face. Happy summer: Clouds pass in front of the sun in this image that is doing the rounds on the internet Little...

You may think it’s blue-sky thinking gone wrong, but some space-lovers believe a recent spate of UFO-shaped clouds point to the existence of alien life. JAKARTA – New footage has emerged of what appears to be a UFO hiding behind a cover of clouds! UFOs sightings that occur during the day are much harder to explain away, especially when caught on camera. This video was recently released, supposedly shot in Indonesia:

COPENHAGEN – The atmosphere at the U.N. climate conference grew more tense and divisive after talks were suspended for most of Monday's session — a sign of the developing nations' deep distrust of the promises by industrial countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions. ... The wrangle over emission reductions froze a timetable for government ministers to negotiate a host of complex issues. Though procedural in nature, the Africa-led suspension went to the core of suspicions by poor countries that wealthier ones were trying to soften their commitments and evade penalties for missing their targets. ... The negotiations were meant to...

Clouds come in many shapes, sizes, colors and forms—all unique and beautiful in their own way. Whether it is a sky full of red and orange clouds lighting up the Brooklyn Bridge or rare mother-of-pearl clouds in Scandinavia, we found some unbelievably stunning photos that capture fascinating cloud formations from around the globe. Have a look at the pictures below—and you never know, they may inspire you to look up to the sky every once in a while. Florence, Italy As Frank Slack stood over the Arno river, the combination of the setting sun and clouds rolling in produced this...

Enlarge ImageCloud killer? Research suggests that solar storms interfere with cloud formation on Earth. Credit: ESA/NASA Most of Earth's clouds get their start in deep space. That's the surprising conclusion from a team of researchers who argue that interstellar cosmic rays collide with water molecules in our atmosphere to form overcast skies. As common as clouds are on Earth, the processes that produce them are not well understood. Scientists think particles of dust or pollen can serve as nuclei for water droplets, which in turn gather by the trillions into clouds. That would help explain how clouds form over...

Whipped into fantastical shapes, these clouds hang over the darkening landscape like the harbingers of a mighty storm. But despite their stunning and frequent appearances, the formations have yet to be officially recognised with a name. They have been seen all over Britain in different forms -from Snowdonia to the Scottish Highlands - and in other parts of the world such as New Zealand, but usually break up without producing a storm. And some experts believe the stormy weather phenomenon deserves its very own classification. Experts at the Royal Meteorological Society are now attempting to make it official by naming...

A band of intense thunderstorms moved through Oklahoma and Arkansas on the morning of June 12, 2009. This series of photographs shows how such a storm sometimes appears. Some storm spotters call this the “spaceship” or “UFO” cloud. The official name is “shelf cloud”. Cold air produced by heavy rain rushes out ahead of the storm; as the cooler denser air lifts the surrounding moisture, it can create this odd-looking cloud. Shelf clouds may or may not be accompanied by severe winds; but they are not tornadoes.

These choppy clouds over Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in an undated picture could be examples of the first new type of cloud to be recognized since 1951. Or so hopes Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society. The British cloud enthusiast said he began getting photos of "dramatic" and "weird" clouds (including the above) in 2005 that he didn't know how to define. A few months ago he began preparing to propose the odd formations as a new cloud variety to the UN's World Meteorological Organization, which classifies cloud types. Pretor-Pinney jokingly calls it the "Jacques Cousteau cloud," after its...

Lead in the air is causing clouds in odd conditions—in conditions typically too warm and dry for cloud formation—according to scientists who've "bottled" clouds and even grown their own. Driven mainly by industrial lead-dust emissions, lead-heavy clouds could change weather patterns and might actually help fight global warming, the study suggests. Researchers collected cloud samples atop a Swiss mountain and found that about half of their ice crystals contained lead. Then, by building artificial clouds in laboratory chambers, the team determined that lead actually causes ice crystals to form. Clouds formed in warmer, drier air when lead was present, the...

Contact: Mary Beckmanmary.beckman@pnl.gov 509-375-3688DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Clouds: Lighter than air but laden with lead Atmospheric lead causes clouds to form more easily, could change pattern of rain and snow RICHLAND, Wash. -- By sampling clouds -- and making their own -- researchers have shown for the first time a direct relation between lead in the sky and the formation of ice crystals that foster clouds. The results suggest that lead generated by human activities causes clouds to form at warmer temperatures and with less water. This could alter the pattern of both rain and snow in a warmer world.The...

Are those UFOs near that mountain? No -- they are multilayered lenticular clouds. Moist air forced to flow upward around mountain tops can create lenticular clouds. Water droplets condense from moist air cooled below the dew point, and clouds are opaque groups of water droplets. Waves in the air that would normally be seen horizontally can then be seen vertically, by the different levels where clouds form.

IT’S not so much a cloud with a silver lining, but rather the cloud that looks like a silvery flying saucer. Onlookers were spellbound when they witnessed the unusual phenomenon that “hovered� over the Welsh coast for almost an hour.Sonja Lewis was working at Borth Golf club where her husband, John, is a pro golfer, when she took this picture.“I’d never seen anything like it before, it was like four clouds piled up on top of each other. It was quite beautiful,� she said.

Our little dry streak is about to come to an end. But if you looked at Mt. Rainier today, you would have known that already. Take a look at some of these incredible clouds captured over Mt. Rainier today. The one above was taken by Tim Thompson. [...] Those are called "lenticular clouds" They're caused when the air flow is just right so when it flows over Mt. Rainier, the air gets pushed upward where it cools and condenses into clouds. Depending on how smooth the flow is, you can get some amazing clouds formations as we've seen so far...

Can't Rush and Sean afford to buy them now?

Do you remember your puppy days when you’d lay in a field, look at the sky and use your imagination on the puffs of clouds floating by? Yup, the good old days. These were the times long before you were asked to humiliate yourself by standing on your hind legs just to get a treat. Of course in my cloud observation days, I never really got much further than “Hey, that looks like a ball!” or “Hey, that looks like a chewy!” but no one ever accused me of being creative or bright. Our first entry is this Dachshund running...

Curious cloud formations linked to quakes 11 April 2008 From New Scientist Print Edition. Lynn Dicks CAN unusual clouds signal the possibility of an impending earthquake? That's the question being asked following the discovery of distinctive cloud formations above an active fault in Iran before each of two large earthquakes occurred. Geophysicists Guangmeng Guo and Bin Wang of Nanyang Normal University in Henan, China, noticed a gap in the clouds in satellite images from December 2004 that precisely matched the location of the main fault in southern Iran. It stretched for hundreds of kilometres, was visible for several hours and...

Cirrus Disappearance: Warming Might Thin Heat-trapping Clouds ScienceDaily (Nov. 5, 2007) — The widely accepted (albeit unproven) theory that manmade global warming will accelerate itself by creating more heat-trapping clouds is challenged this month in new research from The University of Alabama in Huntsville.Cirrus clouds. (Credit: NOAA Central Library, Photo by Albert E. Theberge Junior) Instead of creating more clouds, individual tropical warming cycles that served as proxies for global warming saw a decrease in the coverage of heat-trapping cirrus clouds, says Dr. Roy Spencer, a principal research scientist in UAHuntsville's Earth System Science Center. That was not what he...

The first photo, one of five for this scene snapped on 2007 August 20, is via the astronauts aboard the International Space Station (Expedition 15). The second picture was taken at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station (Niagara Falls Air Base), New York on 2006 October 4. More information, especially for that top (NASA/ISS) photo, at http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20061021.htm

Asia's brown clouds 'warm planet' The "brown cloud" is pollution from burning wood and fossil fuels Clouds of pollution over the Indian Ocean appear to cause as much warming as greenhouse gases released by human activity, a study has suggested. US researchers used unmanned aircraft to measure the effects of the "brown clouds" on the surrounding area. Writing in Nature, they said the tiny particles increased the solar heating of the lower atmosphere by about 50%. The warming could be enough to explain the retreat of glaciers in the Himalayas, the scientists proposed. The clouds contain a mixture of light...

Since their discovery 120 years ago, strangely luminescent clouds called noctilucent clouds have been creeping slowly toward the equator. Once confined to Earth's poles, the bizarre clouds have now been spotted above central Colorado, and they appear to be getting brighter and more numerous, too, said David Rusch, a University of Colorado atmospheric scientist. This month, NASA plans to launch the $110 million AIM (Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere) mission to measure noctilucent clouds and the circumstances in which they form - which may be linked to climate change. The satellite will measure air temperature and pressure, moisture content...

WASHINGTON -- U.S. government scientists Friday said the long-term outlook for global warming may be more dire than suggested by this week's United Nations' report, which they say doesn't fully address the impact of clouds and melting glaciers. Recent evidence of accelerated melting of glaciers in Greenland and the Antarctic ice cap came too late to be included in the report released Thursday by the U.N.-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Glaciers are among the largest sources of fresh water in the world and are contributing to rising ocean levels. Rising sea levels could expose population centers bordering the ocean...

Atmospheric scientists have reported a new and potentially important mechanism by which chemical emissions from ocean phytoplankton may influence the formation of clouds that reflect sunlight away from our planet. This intimate connection between life and the environment of Earth could have profound implications for the future of our planet's global ecosystem. Discovery of the new link between clouds and the biosphere grew out of efforts to explain increased cloud cover observed over an area of the Southern Ocean where a large bloom of phytoplankton was occurring. Based on satellite data, the researchers hypothesized that airborne particles produced by oxidation...

War clouds gather in Georgian spy crisis By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow (Filed: 30/09/2006) The crisis in the Caucasus escalated last night as Georgia accused Russia of advancing troops towards its borders after four Russian army officers were charged with spying. Officers check papers at Russian Army headquarters in Tbilisi as Russia evacuates staff and their families The worst breakdown in relations between the two ex-Soviet neighbours in 15 years seemed to worsen hour by hour on a day of high drama. Flouting Kremlin demands for their immediate release, a Tbilisi court ordered the four Russian servicemen, whose arrest on...

Everyone is scientific circles is abuzz with the big news: there's proof that dark matter exists! The paper from the scientists who made the discovered is here; and a Sean Carroll (no relation) has a very good explanation on his blog, Cosmic Variance. This discovery happens to work as a great example of just why good science needs good math. As I always say, one of the ways to recognize a crackpot theory in physics is by the lack of math. For an example, you can look at the electric universe folks. They have a theory, and they make predictions:...

HOBART, Australia - Some of the coldest temperatures on Earth brought a rare cloud formation to the skies over Antarctica, scientists said Tuesday. Meteorological officer Renae Baker captured spectacular images of the nacreous clouds, also known as polar stratospheric clouds, last week at Australia's Mawson station in Antarctica. The clouds only occur at high polar latitudes in winter, requiring temperatures less than minus 176 degrees Fahrenheit. A weather balloon measured temperatures at minus 189 degrees Fahrenheit on the day the photos were taken. Resembling airborne mother-of-pearl shells, the clouds are produced when fading light at sunset passes through water-ice crystals...

Dust clouds transport bacteria from Africa around the world Ian Sample Thursday May 25, 2006 Giant clouds of dust whipped up by desert storms in Africa can carry infectious organisms to other continents, scientists claim today. Despite being blown more than three miles high and exposed to radiation from the sun, strains of bacteria and fungi survived and were able to grow when they returned to Earth, researchers found. Among 40 tests of air samples taken in the mid-Atlantic, 24 revealed living microbes, including 26 colonies of bacteria and 83 fungi. They included strains capable of causing disease in humans,...

Last year was the hottest on record, or the second hottest, depending on the records climatologists look at. The planet has warmed .8 degrees C over the past 150 years, and scientists are generally agreed that greenhouse gases have played a major part in that warming. They also agree that the warming will continue in the decades to come. Many experts are concerned that warming may make two unpleasant things more common: extinctions and diseases. In tomorrow's issue of Nature (link to come here), a team of scientists report on a case that ties these two dangers together: frogs have...

Long, infrared exposures of giant gas and dust clouds reveal structures that are invisible at optical wavelengths (Image: J Foster and A Goodman, CfA) Astronomers have discovered a new way to probe dark clouds of gas and dust in space, shedding light on the mysterious conditions that nurture star birth. Stars condense from giant clouds of molecular gas and dust that float through space. But these stellar wombs are difficult to study because they are barely visible at optical wavelengths. And other methods that probe their structure are not very precise – for example, estimating how much dust they...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Israel and the Palestinians agreed on Sunday to halt their latest round of rocket attacks and airstrikes, an official said, but the deal threatened to fall through even before it was officially announced when Israeli forces killed two Islamic Jihad militants in the West Bank. Israeli forces encircled a house in the West Bank town of Qabatiyeh after sundown Sunday and killed two militants, including Jihad Zakarne, an Islamic Jihad member accused by Israel of planning a deadly suicide bombing last week, witnesses and Palestinian security officials said. The Israeli military had no comment. Islamic...

OK, it's been a bad week. We all know it. We all know why. We are at eachother's throats. This thread is not to discuss that. It's for happiness so post things that make you happy like kittens, puppies, fluffy clouds, whatever.

-- A weird-looking cloud sporting the colors of the rainbow appeared to many in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex early Thursday afternoon.The cloud stayed in the southeastern sky for several minutes, but was obscured by other clouds at times. NBC 5 Meteorolgist James Aydelott offered one possible explanation, saying that the sun was hitting the cloud at just the right angle, similar to a phenomenon known as "sun dogs," causing the colorful display. He also said he had never seen a cloud like this before.

Hey, we still have electricity! The rain just stopped. No wind. No storm. Everything is calm. The crickets are playing their music outside. They have no idea what's coming! ;-) We made some pictures of Hurricane Dennis today.This link takes you to my home page which is hosted on a free server. Please, DO NOT CLICK ON THE REFRESH or RELOAD button in your browser. Do not put a lot of stress on the server. (If 200 people want to download the pictures at once that may cause my home page to go offline.) Good bye! I am afraid that...

Earth's reflectivity a great unknown in gauging climate change impactsEarth's climate is being changed substantially by a buildup of atmospheric greenhouse gases, but a group of leading climate scientists contends the overall impact is not understood as well as it should be because data are too scarce on how much energy the planet reflects into space. Reflectivity, or albedo, is largely governed by clouds and atmospheric particles called aerosols, but it is one of Earth's least-understood properties, said Robert Charlson, a University of Washington atmospheric scientist. Yet research aimed at quantifying the effects of albedo and helping scientists understand how...

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promised to wage a great battle this fall in a special election showdown with unions, special interests and — most of all — the Democrats. AP Photo But with polls showing his popularity in decline and a key petition deadline looming, there is growing uncertainty about whether Schwarzenegger still wants the confrontation. "This has been a catastrophe from beginning to end," said Raphael Sonenshein, a political scientist at California State University, Fullerton. "He's proposed a year of warfare with the Democrats on issues that unite them against him — this is not a great way to govern...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promised to wage a great battle this fall in a special election showdown with the unions, the special interests and - most of all - the Democrats. But with his numbers falling in the polls and a key petition deadline approaching, there is growing uncertainty not only about which measures voters might face but even whether Schwarzenegger still wants the confrontation. "This has been a catastrophe from beginning to end," said Raphael Sonenshein, a political scientist at California State University, Fullerton. "He's proposed a year of warfare with the Democrats on issues that unite...

I seem to remember some mention of artificial cloud generation ("cloud weaving?") in a thread some time ago. It may just be tin-foil hat stuff, but I remember there was a link to a website that was rather intriguing. I'm not coming up with anything on Google. Anyone know what the heck I'm talking about?

A Russian lawyer has staked a claim on all the world's clouds. Vladimir Osipiv is using the same law that allowed an American man to claim the moon. He is hoping the clouds will be snapped by environmentalists who will then take legal action against governments that allow clouds to be polluted. He said: "The owner of the damaged clouds will be able to seek punitive damages from polluters." American Dennis Hope who claimed the moon in 1980 has since sold plots of land there to more than two million people. Osipev, 48, from Yeisk in Russia's Krasnodar region, said:...

PASADENA, Calif. - The Mars rover Spirit found a mineral linked to water during its exploration of the Red Planet, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory said Monday. Scientists identified the mineral goethite in bedrock studied in the West Spur area of the Columbia Hills. Spirit and its twin, Opportunity, were sent to Mars to look for geologic evidence of a watery past. Both rovers, especially Opportunity, have found such evidence in their nearly year-long treks over the martian surface, but the goethite find is particularly important, a mission scientist said in a JPL statement. "Goethite, like the jarosite that Opportunity found...

Whenever ships dock near her waterfront house in Stockton, Calif., Sherry Shields hides indoors. She says she can't relax in her yard. She won't let her grandchildren play outside. The smoke billowing from the ships' exhaust stacks, she says, makes the air hard to breathe. "Many times you can see the black plume coming," says Shields, whose citizens group is suing to block expansion of the nearby port on Stockton's inland waterway. "It's unconscionable that this is happening next to homes." From fishing skiffs to supertankers, boats and ships around the USA are belching out harmful pollutants that cloud the...

Cassini photos thrill, mystify scientists BY WILLIAM HARWOOD Posted: July 3, 2004 New pictures of Saturn's enigmatic moon Titan, taken by cameras aboard the Cassini probe that are capable of penetrating the thick smog-like haze that blankets the frigid world, show strange looking surface features and a deck of methane clouds the size of Arizona. But so far, the instruments have not detected reflections from the surfaces of lakes or small seas of liquid hydrocarbons many scientists believe must form in the ultra-cold environment. Piercing the ubiquitous layer of smog enshrouding Titan, this combination of images from the Cassini visual...

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2003 November 14 Jupiter Portrait Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, Cassini Project, NASA Explanation: Every day is a cloudy day on Jupiter, the Solar System's reigning gas giant. And swirling cloud tops are all you see in this stunningly detailed true color image, a portion of a large digital mosaic portrait of Jupiter recorded from the Cassini spacecraft during its Jovian flyby in December 2000. The smallest features visible...