Community Blogs
Community Blogs
Discover how the GLOBE community is engaging in all things GLOBE through the community blog posts below.
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The GLOBE Clouds team is delighted to announce this new section that showcases sky and cloud photographs from around the world! We’ve also been receiving some amazing questions from students.
The featured question was asked by students from Corpus Christi Catholic School :
Question: Why can we see clouds but not evaporation?
Answer: Water vapor is invisible. However, the water in clouds is in liquid or solid state, not gas.
Do you have a favorite cloud photo or a question for the team? Use the linked form to cast your vote and ask us any question ...
Read More »
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
GENERAL SCIENCE
GENERAL SCIENCE @ES
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
News Topics:
NEWS BRIEFS
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
Waleska works with in-service teachers in the teacher training programs of the Galileo University and the University of San Carlos of Guatemala. She is the founder and coordinator of the STEAM program
Question: Where are you from?
Answer: I was born in the city of the eternal Spring, Guatemala City, in Central America, several eclipses, comets, and moons ago.
Question: What inspired you to work in this field?
Answer: Since I was little I had a fascination with natural phenomena, the reason why stars shine led me to be a Physicist, and fireflies and ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
DATA INCLUDED
GENERAL SCIENCE
GENERAL SCIENCE @ES
SCIENTIST SKILLS
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
Brad Hegyi is a research scientist for the NASA Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) project team at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, USA. Brad develops metrics and statistics for POWER from model estimates of future climate to help support planning for future energy use by heating and cooling systems in buildings. Brad also helps create interactive data products to better visualize changes occurring in the climate data.
The energy that comes from the Sun is the basic source of energy for everything on Earth. Solar energy drives Earth’s weather and ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
TECHNOLOGY
STEM
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
DATA INCLUDED
GENERAL SCIENCE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
SCIENTIST SKILLS
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
Energy from the Sun warms our planet, and changes in sunlight can also cause changes in temperature, clouds, and wind. Clouds are ever changing and give you clues and information on what is happening in the atmosphere. Eclipses provide a natural experiment, in which the Sun’s light is blocked from Earth for a brief period in time, allowing us to observe the effects of that sudden change. Read the newly released blog post explaining in depth cloud formation and which ones would be impacted by the upcoming total solar eclipse over North America and how the data will be used. ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
STEM
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
CLOUDS
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
The NASA GLOBE Clouds Quarterly Update is available for December, January, February 2023-2024!
Coming Soon: Cloud Challenge 2024
The team is excited to announce that in 2024 we will have a Cloud Challenge focused on how clouds change throughout the day.
First Long-Duration Lidar Satellite Mission CALIPSO Ends
CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations), a lidar satellite that advanced the world’s understanding of climate, weather, and air quality, ended its scientific mission on August 1, 2023 after 17 years of operation.
Meet an ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
CLOUDS
News Topics:
NEWS BRIEFS
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
US GLOBE Partners Presented at the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) on April 26, 2023
"AI and Diplomacy" Panel Discussion moderated by Larisa Schelkin, US GLOBE Partner from Boston, Massachusetts & UNITAR Teaching Faculty with the panelists from the GLOBE Holli Kohl, Project Lead for GLOBE Observer and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/SSAI and Peder V. Nelson, Oregon State University CEOAS; GLOBE Partnership Coordinator; The GLOBE program is recognized as one of the world's leaders in environmental science diplomacy through education. Congratulations to the GLOBE community!
Posted in:
Curriculum:
SCIENCE AND MATH
TECHNOLOGY
STEM
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion:
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
GLOBE International STEM Network (GISN):
GLOBE INTERNATIONAL STEM NETWORK (GISN)
GLOBE Science Topics:
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
SCIENTIST SKILLS
MEETINGS/CONFERENCES
GLOBE Working Groups:
EVALUATION WORKING GROUP
SCIENCE WORKING GROUP
EDUCATION WORKING GROUP
TECHNOLOGY WORKING GROUP
DEI WORKING GROUP
Learning Activities:
ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
LAND COVER/BIOLOGY
News Topics:
MEETINGS
REGIONS
NEWS BRIEFS
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
Teacher's Guide:
LANGUAGES
On May 1, 2021, I did a lot of things. Most of them involved staying home, logging in to Microsoft Teams for virtual school, and doing my homework. Little did I know that my life would change that very evening. I logged off from school and opened Outlook to check my email, and I saw it immediately: “Congratulations on your NASA virtual internship!”
For the next five months, I was immersed in the life of a scientist. The NASA SEES Internship pushed me to grow and improve my analytical thinking skills, from Ph.D.-level guest lectures to reading through several research papers to actually ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
Investigation Areas:
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
MOSQUITOES
News Topics:
NEWS BRIEFS
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
Student Research Reports:
INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT
MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT
Hello! My name is Nikita A., and I am from Chicago, Illinois. I participated in the NASA SEES Internship Program during the summer of 2022 as part of the Earth System Explorers team. Our program kicked off in the first week of June with an introductory webinar that detailed the goals for the next eight weeks. For the Earth System Explorers project, our goal was to research the harm mosquitoes-borne diseases pose to public health. Every Wednesday, one of our mentors or a guest scientist would meet with us to enhance our learning. They would teach us about GLOBE Observer App data analysis ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
Investigation Areas:
HYDROSPHERE
MOSQUITOES
News Topics:
NEWS BRIEFS
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
Student Research Reports:
INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT
MISSION MOSQUITO REPORT
Novedades trimestrales de NASA GLOBE Clouds
Diciembre/Enero/Febrero 2022-2023
Las novedades trimestrales de NASA GLOBE Nubes 2022-2023 están disponibles.
Anuncio acerca de NOAA-20
En 2023, será posible hacer coincidir tus observaciones satelitales con un nuevo satélite. Obtén más información sobre NOAA-20 y cómo aumentar la posibilidad de obtener una coincidencia con satélites.
NASA GLOBE CLOUD GAZE termina en 2022
Después de lograr una increíble cantidad de clasificación de fotos del cielo, NASA GLOBE CLOUD GAZE está llegando a su fin; sin embargo, puedes conocer ...
Posted in:
GLOBE International STEM Network (GISN):
GLOBE INTERNATIONAL STEM NETWORK (GISN)
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
GENERAL SCIENCE @ES
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
GLOBE Working Groups:
SCIENCE WORKING GROUP
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
CLOUDS
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
News Topics:
NEWS BRIEFS
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
The NASA GLOBE Clouds Quarterly Update is available for winter 2022-23!
NOAA-20 Announcement
In 2023, it will be possible for you to match your satellite observations with a new satellite. Learn more about NOAA-20 and how to increase the chance to get a satellite match.
NASA GLOBE CLOUD GAZE Ends in 2022
After achieving an incredible number of sky photos’ classification, NASA GLOBE CLOUD GAZE is coming to an end, but you can learn about its success stories and download its data in this year-end report.
Cloud Observation Tip: Cloud Iridescence
Cloud iridescence occurs ...
Posted in:
GLOBE International STEM Network (GISN):
GLOBE INTERNATIONAL STEM NETWORK (GISN)
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
GLOBE Working Groups:
SCIENCE WORKING GROUP
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
CLOUDS
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
News Topics:
NEWS BRIEFS
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
Did you know that clouds can both warm and cool our planet? Keeping an eye on clouds helps NASA study our climate. You can notice some of these changes by just looking at the clouds.
Here are some examples you might have already noticed:
Do all clouds cast shadows? Low thick clouds tend to cast the most shadows. The shadows show you how the cloud is blocking the light from the sun from reaching the ground. This is similar to you placing your hand in front of your eyes when it is too sunny. Your hand is blocking the light from reaching your eyes. This is the same as the ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
SCIENCE AND MATH
STEM
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
GENERAL SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
SCIENTIST SKILLS
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
Stratus clouds are one of the three main types of clouds. Remember that there are many types of clouds that fall into three main categories: cumulus, stratus, and cirrus. Using hand-motions , we would stretch out our hands as far out as we could to mimic a stratus cloud. There are stratus-type clouds at all three basic altitude levels. These are: stratus clouds (low level), altostratus clouds (mid level), and cirrostratus clouds (high level). When stratus-type clouds are present, your skies will most likely be overcast or the cloud cover is 90% or more. Note, there is a ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
SCIENCE AND MATH
STEM
GLOBE Science Topics:
GENERAL SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
Have you heard there is a new clouds project? It is called NASA GLOBE CLOUD GAZE. It is a merger of GLOBE Clouds and The Zooniverse online citizen science platform. A one-week pacing guide is now available!
Sky photographs are one of the most requested portions of a GLOBE Clouds observation. This is because there is so much you can do with them. Photographs give scientists the opportunity to be right there with you. Details within a photograph can be used to compare with satellite data, confirm dust or haze observations, and give insight to unique cloud types like ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
SCIENCE AND MATH
STEM
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
DATA INCLUDED
GENERAL SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
Learning Activities:
ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE
News Topics:
NEWS BRIEFS
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
Many protocol-trained GLOBE members may have noticed a recent update to the GLOBE Program’s GLOBE Observer app. The change brings a new look and a new way to submit GLOBE atmospheric measurements. If you were used to entering meteorological conditions in the Cloud Tool, you’ll see this option is no longer there. Don’t worry, you can still submit these observations through the Atmosphere Data Entry section. You just need to do a few extra steps to get it all set up. The new update gives you the opportunity to save your favorite or go to observations as a bundle, a step you ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
DATA INCLUDED
GENERAL SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
Every time you take a cloud observation, the NASA GLOBE Clouds team matches your observation to satellite data. Why do we do this? Your view of clouds is from a different perspective than what is observed from a satellite. Satellites look down at clouds and see the top. When you make your observation, you are looking up towards the sky and seeing the bottom of the clouds. When there is a match, scientists then have a top-down view of clouds from a satellite and a bottom-up view from your spot. When you mix these two views together, you have a more complete picture of the sky. ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
EDUCATION RESEARCH
SCIENCE AND MATH
STEM
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
DATA INCLUDED
GENERAL SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
SCIENTIST SKILLS
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
News Topics:
REGIONS
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
The NASA GLOBE Clouds team highlights cloud observers Hilde Fålun Strøm (Norway) and Sunniva Sorby (Canada), who created Hearts In The Ice to call attention to all the rapid changes occurring in the polar regions due to the changing climate. These citizen scientists made history last year by being the first women to overwinter solo in the high Arctic. They spent 12 consecutive months without running water or electricity at a remote trappers cabin called “Bamsebu” in Svalbard, Norway. While they were there, they made numerous GLOBE cloud observations as ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
LANGUAGE CULTURE AND ARTS
STEM
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
DATA INCLUDED
GENERAL SCIENCE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
SCIENTIST SKILLS
GLOBE Working Groups:
SCIENCE WORKING GROUP
EDUCATION WORKING GROUP
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
News Topics:
COMMUNITY LETTERS
NEWS BRIEFS
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
The NASA GLOBE Clouds team is continuously working with scientists around the world finding ways that cloud observations from citizen scientists impact the most. As we find new ways of using the data, we want to remind you how important each part of your cloud report is to the scientific community. All cloud observations can help with big questions such as the link between clouds and climate. Dr. Patrick Taylor is an atmospheric scientist at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. In the Clouds and Earth’s Climate video , Patrick discusses how he studies clouds to ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION
EDUCATION RESEARCH
SCIENCE AND MATH
STEM
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
CLIMATE CHANGE
GENERAL SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
SCIENTIST SKILLS
GLOBE Working Groups:
SCIENCE WORKING GROUP
EDUCATION WORKING GROUP
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
Learning Activities:
ATMOSPHERE AND CLIMATE
News Topics:
COMMUNITY LETTERS
NEWS BRIEFS
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
Student Research Reports:
STANDARD RESEARCH REPORT
Teacher's Guide:
INVESTIGATION AREA DOCUMENTS
Each cloud observation submitted using the GLOBE Observer app or through The GLOBE Program is compared to data from multiple satellites. A satellite match is when satellite data is identified that corresponds to a cloud observation. For orbiting satellites the observation must be within 15 minutes before or after a satellite’s overpass. Geostationary satellites, like the GOES satellites, are always observing the same location. If you are in the United States, you are likely to get a satellite match to a GOES satellite. These satellites are sending data every 15 minutes. As long ...
Posted in:
Curriculum:
SCIENCE AND MATH
STEM
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
CLIMATE
GENERAL SCIENCE
GLOBE PROTOCOLS
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
SCIENTIST SKILLS
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
EARTH AS A SYSTEM
News Topics:
COMMUNITY LETTERS
NEWS BRIEFS
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
In May 2020, citizen scientist Carmen Mandel met two major milestones: she marked her one-year anniversary of being a GLOBE Observer and she single-handedly expanded the Clouds satellite match data by 36%. Carmen uses GLOBE Observer to record clouds 2-3 times daily every time she gets a notification that a NASA satellite is overhead. She sends her data to GLOBE, but then she records her observation in her own clouds journal. When she receives an email from NASA Langley Research Center matching her observation to satellite data, she adds that to her journal as ...
Posted in:
GLOBE Science Topics:
BACKYARD SCIENCE
DATA INCLUDED
EARTH SYSTEM SCIENCE
GENERAL SCIENCE
Investigation Areas:
ATMOSPHERE
CLOUDS
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
Have you ever wondered what happens after you press submit on your International Virtual Science Symposium (IVSS) report?
The GLOBE Implementation Office (GIO) Education team gets to work!
Ok, that might be a little misleading because work on the IVSS already started back in August when we started planning for the 2021 IVSS. And while learning about planning webinars and recruiting judges might be something you are interested in; this is not what this blog post will cover. This is the “story” of what happens after teachers upload their students’ projects and press the big blue ...
Posted in:
News Topics:
VIRTUAL SCIENCE FAIR
Primary Audience:
ALUMNI
COUNTRY COORDINATORS
PARTNERS
SCIENTISTS
STUDENTS
TEACHERS
TRAINERS
Student Research Reports:
INTERNATIONAL VIRTUAL SCIENCE SYMPOSIUM REPORT
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