It's the first ever Cloud Appreciation Day.

September 16, 2022 7:20 AM

The Cloud Appreciation Society has created the Memory Cloud Atlas with artist Justin Wiggan, which for one day is open for anyone to share their sky. You can submit a picture or explore pictures from all over the globe. They also offer a Cloud Appreciation Pack with cloud-related lesson plans, resources and activities for schools or homeschooling.
posted by joannemerriam (13 comments total)

For reasons, I had to spend a lot of time last year on long car rides across flat country, so I got interested in cloud taxonomy and what it could tell me about weather (not much, other than "there will be some"). I would have loved to see this.
posted by Countess Elena at 8:56 AM on September 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

Now that I live in a place where for most of the year I rarely get to see clouds (usually it's clear unless it's generally overcast), I love going back to the part of the world where I grew up.

On the drive between my family's house in Montreal and our cabin just across the border at the edge of the Adirondack Park, I get to see magnificent clouds! Even if it's the middle of the summer! When I actually lived there I had no idea what a treat that would become.

Thanks, joannemerriam. In return I offer this real-time animation of global wind currents.
posted by tangerine at 9:12 AM on September 16, 2022 [2 favorites]

This is your regular reminder that "the cloud" is just "somebody else's water droplets".
posted by Hatashran at 10:39 AM on September 16, 2022 [4 favorites]

i gave my daughter a membership a while back. the manifesto is terrific.
posted by j_curiouser at 11:58 AM on September 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

This is a good idea. I enjoyed looking at clouds around the world!
Several of those dots are in the wrong countries. One in Chad, but the picture is of London, one in BC but the picture is of California.
It doesn't hinder my enjoyment!
posted by Acari at 12:20 PM on September 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

I love this, thanks for posting.
posted by theora55 at 12:45 PM on September 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

NASA wants YOU!
posted by foonly at 2:55 PM on September 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

My spouse has been posting pictures of the sky nearly every day since 2013 (though she currently has a several-months long posting backlog.) Her jam for sure.
posted by q*ben at 3:38 PM on September 16, 2022 [1 favorite]

Fascinating! Making my way across India. Wow!
posted by saeva indignatio at 4:14 PM on September 16, 2022

I learned about the Cloud Appreciation Society here, and I treasure its ongoing mental health support. When I submitted, the Memory Cloud Atlas didn't read any location data, so users control location ID. That explains Acari's mismatch experience. I appreciate the privacy, but it does interfere with my pursuit of island/coastal skyscapes.

A few I did find:
Brynjumannaborð, Streymoy, Førøyar
Georgetown, Tasmania, Australia
Salisbury Plain of South Georgia Island, British Overseas Territory
Casey Station, Antartica
Grand Gaube, Mauritius
Hyōgo, Japan
posted by Jesse the K at 10:15 AM on September 17, 2022

Thanks! I downloaded the lesson plans and I'm going to see if I can adapt them for preschoolers.
posted by kathrynm at 3:00 PM on September 17, 2022

Checking in from the southern tip of Appalachia.
posted by ob1quixote at 4:41 PM on September 17, 2022

"It's cloud illusions I recall,
I really don't know clouds at all."
posted by TreeHugger at 7:31 PM on September 18, 2022 [1 favorite]