Free Republic

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...

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 October 14 Iridescent Clouds Over Aiguille de la Tsa Credit & Copyright: Ute Esser (U. Heidelberg) Explanation: Before the sun rose over the mountains, iridescent colors danced across the sky. The unexpected light show was caused by a batch of iridescent clouds, and captured on film in early September in Arolla, Wallis, Switzerland. The peak in the foreground of the above image is Aiguille de la Tsa....

Peering into a giant molecular cloud in the Milky Way galaxy - known as W49 - astronomers from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) have discovered a whole new population of very massive newborn stars. This research was presented at the International Astronomical Union's 25th General Assembly held in Sydney, Australia, by ESO-scientist Joao Alves. With the help of infrared images obtained during a period of excellent observing conditions with the ESO 3.5-m New Technology Telescope (NTT) at the La Silla Observatory (Chile), the astronomers looked deep into this molecular cloud and discovered four massive stellar clusters, with hot and energetic...

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 June 15 Noctilucent Clouds Credit & Copyright: Pekka Parviainen (Polar Image) Explanation: Sometimes it's night on the ground but day in the air. As the Earth rotates to eclipse the Sun, sunset rises up from the ground. Therefore, at sunset on the ground, sunlight still shines on clouds above. Under usual circumstances, a pretty sunset might be visible, but unusual noctilucent clouds float so high up they...

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 March 11 Iridescent Clouds Credit & Copyright: Arne Danielsen Explanation: Why would clouds appear to be different colors? A relatively rare phenomenon known as iridescent clouds can show unusual colors vividly or a whole spectrum of colors simultaneously. These clouds are formed of small water droplets of nearly uniform size. When the Sun is in the right position and mostly hidden by thick clouds, these thinner clouds...

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 March 9 Farewell Jupiter Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, Cassini Project, NASA Explanation: Next stop: Saturn. The Cassini spacecraft, launched from Earth in 1997, has now swung past Jupiter and should arrive at Saturn in the year 2004. Pictured to the left is a parting shot from Cassini in January that would not have been possible from Earth: Jupiter showing a crescent phase. From the Earth and all points...

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 February 26 Anticrepuscular Rays Over Horseshoe Canyon Credit & Copyright: Peggy Peterson Explanation: What's happening over the horizon? Although the scene may appear somehow supernatural, nothing more unusual is occurring than a setting Sun and some well placed clouds. Pictured above are anticrepuscular rays. To understand them, start by picturing common crepuscular rays that are seen any time that sunlight pours though scattered clouds. Now although sunlight...

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 January 23 Launch of the Sun Pillar Credit & Copyright: Lauri A. Kangas Explanation: On January 16, NASA's space shuttle Columbia roared into blue morning skies above Kennedy Space Center on STS-107, the first shuttle mission of 2003. But this is not a picture of that launch! It was taken on the morning of January 16 though, at sunrise, looking eastward toward Lake Ontario from just outside...

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 January 8 X-Rays from the Galactic Core Credit: Fred Baganoff (MIT), Mark Morris (UCLA), et al., CXC, NASA Explanation: Using the orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers have taken this long look at the core of our Milky Way galaxy, some 26,000 light-years away. The spectacular false-color view spans about 130 light-years. It reveals an energetic region rich in x-ray sources and high-lighted by the central source, Sagittarius...