I was driving to my astronomy meeting tonight, and saw these towering cumulus in the distance. There were severe thunderstorm watches in effect in the Long Island Metro area. We didn't get any of the storms, but east of me they were getting a lot of rain. The clouds were just beautiful in their brilliance, subtle shades of gray, and colorations. Usually we see these storms coming, and therefore don't get to see clouds like this - the low clouds preceding lines of thunderstorms usually obscure the tall clouds of the storms themselves.
What do astronomers do when it's cloudy?
ReplyDeletegood question!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWe weep! Not only that, but we love looking at faint galaxies and star clusters and nebulae. In order to see them, we need to observe when the moon is not in the sky. So that gives us only a week or so each month for what is called "Deep Sky Observing" as opposed to planetary and lunar work. It can be frustrating to not have clear skies during "the dark time" of the month.
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