Spring2024CloudUpdate

NASA GLOBE Clouds Quarterly Update

March/April/May 2024

GLOBE Eclipse Challenge: Clouds and Our Solar-Powered Earth (15 March - 15 April 2024)

an artist rendition of a view of the Earth, moon and sun from space. The Earth is covered by clouds and the moon is covering the sun causing a solar eclipse.

The Sun drives many processes in Earth’s atmosphere. As the Sun rises and sets, it warms the Earth’s surface at different intensities. These changes in heat lead to changes in the clouds, especially the types of clouds. To study these changes, we need observations at different times over the course of hours, days, weeks, months, and years from around the globe. It can be tricky to capture the extent of these interactions with satellites alone, which is why we need observations from your perspective on the ground as part of the GLOBE Eclipse Challenge: Clouds and Our Solar-Powered Earth.

The challenge runs 15 March - 15 April 2024 to align with the NASA GLOBE Clouds: Spring Cloud Observations Data Challenge which occurred 15 March - 15 April 2018. In the 2018 challenge, volunteers submitted more than 55,600 cloud observations! The 2024 GLOBE Eclipse Challenge builds the long-term record of cloud observations to help scientists study change over time and allows a comparison to the previous challenge data.

three people wearing solar viewing glasses as they look into the distance.Don’t miss the March 2024 GLOBE Observer Connect with NASA GLOBE Clouds team on Thursday, March 21st at 8pm ET. Marilé Colón Robles, GLOBE Clouds project scientist at NASA’s Langley Research Center, will share about the different processes by which clouds form and how the eclipse may have an impact on those processes. You will also hear from Ashlee Autore, a scientist also at NASA Langley, about the analysis she has been doing of cloud observations during the annular eclipse on 14 October 2023, and what she hopes to explore with further data from the total solar eclipse on 08 April.

 

SAFETY FIRST: Total Solar Eclipse over North America, 8 April 2024

A total solar eclipse will be experienced over North America on Monday, 8 April 2024. Discover more about the eclipse, including how to view it safely at NASA’s eclipse webpage.

 

New Year, New Look: Favorite Cloud Ask Us Anything

seven different photographs taken by GLOBE Observers of sky and clouds from around the world. The first one is an image of ice, mountains, and clouds taken from a ship. The second is a gray sky completely covered by clouds. The clouds look flat with some bulges to them. The third is taken in the horizon and you can see clouds, mountains, and houses. The clouds are layered and look gray. You can also see orange colors in the horizon. The fourth is a photo of thing clouds in the horizon with orange colors in the bottom and gray to dark blue on the top. The fifth image is of altocumulus clouds that look like gray cotton balls all smooshed together and the sun slightly visible right on the center. The sixth is an image of the sun peaking over mountains, trees, and snow, and mid level clouds. The last image is of blue skies to the top of the image and a line of cumulus clouds and stratus clouds covering the bottom of the image.

The GLOBE Clouds team is delighted to announce this new section that showcases sky and cloud photographs from around the world! We’ve also been receiving some amazing questions from students.

The featured question was asked by students from Corpus Christi Catholic School:

Question: Why can we see clouds but not evaporation?
Answer: Water vapor is invisible. However, the water in clouds is in liquid or solid state, not gas.

Do you have a favorite cloud photo or a question for the team? Use the linked form to cast your vote and ask us any question related to clouds. The winning photo will be announced at our next quarterly update.

 

Updated Look to the GLOBE-Satellite Data Table

artist rendition of people standing on top of the Earth with clouds above them and above the clouds a satellite.Whenever you make a cloud observation, the GLOBE Clouds team at NASA Langley Research Center looks to see if there is satellite data available from the same time and location as your observation. We pair your observations with the corresponding satellite data and email you back a data table summarizing all the information. The data table has a new look and enhanced accessibility. We also received helpful feedback from the GLOBE community at the 2023 GLOBE Annual Meeting regarding the data table.

See when satellites are over your area using the “check satellite flyovers” button on the GLOBE Observer app or use the satellite overpass tool on the GLOBE website. Then, check out the new table yourself next time you receive your NASA personalized email comparing your observations to satellite data!

 

Meet the Expert: Magdalena Waleska Aldana Segura

a woman with black hair wearing a red top and a necklace. The woman is smiling. Waleska works with in-service teachers in the teacher training programs of the Galileo University and the University of San Carlos of Guatemala. She is the founder and coordinator of the STEAM program

Question: Where are you from?
Answer: I was born in the city of the eternal Spring, Guatemala City, in Central America, several eclipses, comets, and moons ago.

Question: What inspired you to work in this field?
Answer: Since I was little I had a fascination with natural phenomena, the reason why stars shine led me to be a Physicist, and fireflies and bioluminescence have always caught my attention. I went out with my father when I was very little to look for fireflies at night, something I miss a lot now with climate change. The gardens were filled with fireflies at night; it was a unique spectacle, and this always caught my attention; how electronic devices work, and that's how I advanced in my career. I became interested in the National Science Olympics, and that's how I found the Physics major. The more I know about the GLOBE program, the more it catches my attention, and I consider it a valuable program so that young people can learn about the intersection between sciences: between Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics. The program works well in low-resource schools, as it also promotes imagination and creativity. It uses something wonderful, the sky as an observatory and laboratory. It provides a unique opportunity for young people to interact with something they see very far away: real scientists and NASA.

Question: What inspires you about eclipses?
Answer: Since ancient times, eclipses have fascinated humanity. I had the opportunity to see the 1991 eclipse, and I have had the privilege of seeing several lunar eclipses. It reminds us that we are not in an isolated system, that the universe is wonderful and that we still have a lot to discover. It reminds us that the world is bigger than the 4 walls where we normally live. The eclipse is a unique opportunity, and this one in particular will pass over our heads at noon. With luck, we may see the comet Pons-Brooks at the same time as the eclipse (near Jupiter during totality). Both are unique, valuable experiences that create the illusion of space in the collective imagination. That wonderful place, unknown, immense and yet to be known. I am from the generation that was excited about space as the final frontier, and it became the means to learn more about our planet. That is the value of a program like GLOBE. During this eclipse, we want to monitor the incidence of clouds and cosmic radiation. From the previous eclipse, we had the experience that it rained slightly after the totality of the annularity, with a completely clear sky. Nature is wonderful!

Question: What ideas would you like to share about how to participate and observe an eclipse, like the one occurring on 08 April 2024?
Answer:We encourage them to participate and observe the eclipse safely, whether with appropriate lenses, observation boxes, punched cards, but above all, safely. An extremely useful tool is GLOBE Observer, just try to update it and become familiar with it beforehand. It is a valuable tool where you can share data and observations with people throughout the entire trajectory. This eclipse, due to its same characteristics, has a wider area of totality than previous ones, the moon will be slightly closer, and it will also be an experience with a longer observation time, around 4 minutes 23 seconds in some places. This allows you to observe clouds, nature, and changes in surface temperature; but above all, experience it as a whole.

Try to enjoy the eclipse, wherever you are; it is a unique opportunity that also demonstrates that science transcends borders and unites people. Millions of people will be in the path of this eclipse that passes through large cities in Mexico and the United States. It is a unique opportunity in urban centers to see this phenomenon, motivate the passion for science, and also have a totally free cosmic spectacle.

Question: What advice would you like to tell the next generation of observers?
Answer: Fight for your dreams, wherever you are, there are opportunities to do science, to innovate, to dream and create a better future for everyone. We depend on the next observers to solve the enigmas of science. Citizen scientists like you will be the scientists of the future who solve society's problems and create wonderful new discoveries. Physics needs many observers who can answer those questions that contribute in the process to improving everyone's daily lives. We depend on you, and we trust you. See the sky with those eyes of wonder, like children for the first time; but know that we are all here to help you in any way we can, that our knowledge and experience is at the service of this generation.

 

Science Topic with Dr. Brad Hegyi: Understanding Our Solar-powered Earth with NASA Data Provided by the POWER Project

a man looking forward with glasses, a mustache, and a beard, short brown hair, and wearing a gray shirt.Brad Hegyi is a research scientist for the NASA Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) project team at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, USA. Brad develops metrics and statistics for POWER from model estimates of future climate to help support planning for future energy use by heating and cooling systems in buildings. Brad also helps create interactive data products to better visualize changes occurring in the climate data.

The energy that comes from the Sun is the basic source of energy for everything on Earth. Solar energy drives Earth’s weather and climate and is greatly affected by the presence of clouds. It also provides the energy for plants that are a part of Earth’s biosphere and human agriculture. Understanding solar energy is also increasingly important when thinking about renewable energy. Since 2003, the NASA Prediction of World Energy Resources (POWER) project has helped bring NASA data to people that are thinking about solar energy and making informed decisions after analyzing the data.

POWER brings together high-quality data from different sources within NASA. Data comes from sources such as the Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) project, the Global Precipitation Measurement mission (GPM), and the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA2). Our website makes it easy to access the data from different data sources across NASA in one place. The data can easily become a part of your project through our data visualization tool, geospatial image services, an interface to directly bring NASA data into your code, and even through cloud computing (Amazon Web Services). All available data is provided in common and easy-to-use data formats. Tutorials are also available on the website to guide users.

display used by the POWER project that displays different datasets onto a global map that can be manipulated to look at data more closely.

The accessible NASA data provided by POWER has been used in many projects and applications. For example, POWER data was used by a company to determine the best times to deploy floating solar-powered drones in the ocean. Many different users have relied on data provided by POWER to make decisions about providing solar power for locations such as bus stops, agricultural land, and remote locations in Africa. For more details about the POWER project and how to get started using NASA data, check out our website and story map.

 

GLOBE Clouds by the Numbers

The GLOBE Clouds Team would like to share some exciting numbers! Thank you to the amazing GLOBE community. Repeat observations are necessary to understand changes in our atmosphere:

Period Sky Photographs Cloud Observations Satellite Matches
Last Quarter (2023-12-01 to 2024-02-29) 86,209 39,532 40,565

 

a bar graph showing total satellite comparisons since last quarter, with largest amount with GEO at 30, 270, followed by NOAA-20 at 6538, and last with Terra with 3757.