When’s the last time you looked up at the sky? Not to stare at a passing plane or playfully roll your eyes at a friend’s foolish joke, but really, truly looked. Go ahead and try. Walk outside, stare upwards, and soak it all in. Look at the colors and hues, the atoms accumulating in particular patterns, the feather floating down. Look up.
But please, don’t stare at the sun- it will stare back and in a staring contest the sun always wins.
While you look, what is it you see? Is it cloudy or clear? Is the sun setting or rising or is it the moon’s time to shine? How many shades are on view up above? Are there birds cutting through the air? Is your view accented by tree leaves waving in the breeze? Are buildings blocking out the horizon?
Look without expectations and you’ll be amazed at all you come across. Clouds are exceptionally artistic. Sometimes they seem glued in place, other times it’s as if a sky-dwelling giant is huffing and puffing and blowing them along. A passing cumulus might appear as a curious crew of pirates smoothly sailing across the sky. A growling nimbus appears as a dragon dancing in the distance.
Then don’t forget the sunsets. Oh, the beautiful sunsets. Suddenly as the sun sinks the sky becomes the world’s kaleidoscope. Hues of orange and yellow and blue and purple blend together in bands of light. Looking for a show? Look no further because the sun is the director and the Earth is its stage. Nature is the orchestra and you are the audience. In the summer a symphony of cicadas might sing a chorus of joy while in the winter a heavy silence could pull you out of time and space.
So, the sky. Have you looked yet? Have you drunk in its limitless elegance? Have you become enraptured by its ceaseless charm? Every day the sky is the same and yet it never is. As time flies there are new formations, different shades, and migrating denizens. The land above is a world unto itself, with shifting molecules and transient beings passing through the atmosphere.
Look up. What is it you see?
More clouds and sunsets
Why sunsets are better in the winter by Brian Resnick on Vox
The Cloud Appreciation Society has lots of cool pictures and resources on their website.
Help scientists learn about clouds by taking pictures from below and submitting them to the GLOBE Observer app.