Gavin Pretor-Pinney is not a name that will be familiar to millions but new released by NASA recently will almost certainly delight him.
Mr Proctor-Pinney is the founder of the wonderful group the Cloud Appreciation Society/ The news from NASA concerns the discovery of Cirrus-like clouds on Titan
According to Discoveryon The Cassini spacecraft has recorded thin, wispy clouds of ice particles on the Saturn moon, Titan, that are similar to cirrus clouds. The discovery was made using Cassini’s Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS).
“This is the first time we have been able to get details about these clouds. Previously, we had a lot of information about the gases in Titan’s atmosphere but not much about the [high-altitude] clouds,” said Robert Samuelson at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
The discovery will, I’m sure, provide a valuable insight into the atmospheric cycles on Titan. Some day climate scientists will undertake research from Titan itself.
Me, I love the idea of that people will look up from an alien surface and see wispy earth-like clouds…
12 comments:
Cloud Appreciation Society member number 23,001 writes...
It's "Gavin Pretor-Pinney".
Funky name, funky guy!
You'll have to admit, jams, you're really asking for this title! :-)
Gah as CAS member 21something, something, something how could I make that mistake!
It's a great name though!
Ah that's what I was thinking... not that I liked the Rah Band!
Proctor? Well, I could offer a few guesses re the cause of mistake ;-)
Myself, I read the "cirrus" as "citrus" at first. Caused me to think about some special hail...
A rain of orange juice... Now there's a thought!
But will the clouds look like the virgin mary?
Oh, is she appearing on Titan now? She does get around!
No BVMs this time at all Liz. Had there been any I would have been first with the news!
She is a busy lass despite her age Francis!
I've just finished re-reading Paul McAuley's book 'The Quiet War'. It's set a few hundred years in the future when people are living on the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. If you have any energy for sci-fi he's very much worth reading for his great descriptions of place as well as his astute (and thinly veiled re: modern times) political observations.
Thanks Susan. I'll add it to my reading list,,, I do like Sci Fi
Pretor-Pinney's book The Cloudspotter's Guide is a treat for sky-watchers. I do love clouds, but I wouldn't mind fewer of them than we've had lately...
Agreed. It is a delight. I wish we had fewer clouds too Stan!
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