The Cloudspotters Guide: the Science, History, and Culture of Clouds Pdf

FREE THE CLOUDSPOTTERS GUIDE: THE SCIENCE, HISTORY, AND CULTURE OF CLOUDS PDF

Goodreads helps The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science keep track of books you want to read. Want to Read saving…. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Other editions. Enlarge cover. Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Details if other :. Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Bill Sanderson Illustrator. A quirky, clever guide for everyone who loves to look up. Where do clouds come from? Why do they look the way they do? And why have they captured the imagination of timeless artists, Romantic poets, and every kid who's ever held The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science crayon? Journalist and lifelong sky watcher Gavin Pretor-Pinney reveals everything there is to know about clouds, from history and science to a A quirky, clever guide for everyone who loves to look up. Journalist and History sky watcher Gavin Pretor-Pinney reveals everything there is to know about clouds, from history and science to art and pop culture. Cumulus, nimbostratus, and the dramatic and seemingly surfable Morning Glory cloud are just a few of the varieties explored in this smart, witty, and eclectic tour through the skies. Generously illustrated with striking photographs and line drawings featuring everything from classical paintings to lava lamps, children's drawings, and Roman coins, The Cloudspotter's Guide will have science and history buffs, weather watchers, and the just plain curious floating on cloud nine. Get A Copy. Hardcoverpages. Published June 6th by Perigee Trade first published More Details Original Title. Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Cloudspotter's Guideplease sign up. Be the first to ask a question about The Cloudspotter's Guide. Lists with This Book. Community Reviews. Showing Average rating 4. Rating details. More filters. Sort order. Start your review of The Cloudspotter's The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science. The challenge of science writing is making an abstract description of the motion of water particles relevant to a monkey whose language evolved to tell other monkeys where the ripe fruit is. Pretor-Pinney has managed to do something I'd have bet was impossible: make clouds interesting. Before I read this book, clouds were a mess of undifferentiated Latin words and undifferentiated puffy shit in the sky. Now I look up and see physics made incarnate. It's like I've been given a superpower. The author pulls off this improbable task by finding a hook to hang each cloud from. None are as mind- boggling as the second chapter, cumulo-nimbus, where the hook is a pilot who had to bail from an experimental airplane The conditions he experienced inside the cloud are the tangible manifestation of the physics behind the scenes. Ten minutes into his descent, Rankin should have been The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science the ground, but the enormous draughts of History that surged up the core of the cloud were retarding his fall. Soon the turbulence became much more severe. He had no visual point of reference in the gloomy depths but he sensed that, rather than falling, he was being shot upwards with successive violent gusts of rising air—blasts that were becoming increasingly violent. And then for the first time he felt the full force History the cloud. It hit me like a tidal wave of air, a massive blast, fired at me with the savagery of a cannon…I went soaring up and up and up as though there would be no end to its force. The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science the darkness around him, hundreds of thousands of hailstones were suffering the same fate. One minute they were falling downwards, dragging air down with them; the next minute, they were swept back up by the enormous convection currents within the cloud. With this falling and rising, the hailstones picked up freezing water and grew in size, hardening layer by layer like gobstoppers. These rocks of ice pelted Rankin with bruising force. He was now vomiting from the violent spinning and pounding and he shut his eyes, unable to watch the nightmare unfolding. At one point, however, he did open them to find himself looking down a long black tunnel burrowing through the centre of the cloud. The lightning appeared as huge, blue blades, several feet thick, which felt as though they were slicing him in two. The booming claps of thunder, caused by the explosive expansion of the air as the enormous electrical History passed through, were so overpowering up close that they were more like physical impacts than noises. At one point he looked up just as a bolt of lightning passed behind History parachute. It lit up the canvas, which appeared to the exhausted pilot as an enormous, white-domed cathedral. As the image lingered above him, he thought that he had finally died. With headings like "how it feels to be a hailstone" and a look at the Renaissance representations of clouds in art, he manages to take his subject seriously while never losing track of the mystery and wonder that causes people to look at clouds in the first place. Highly recommended. Sep 07, J. Growing up I remember laying The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science the grass and gazing up at the big puffy clouds as they drifted across the sky. Even now when I go back home UtahI'm amazed at and Culture of Clouds much more dramatic History sky often seems compared to where I currently live. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending upon how you look at itLos Angeles seems to have rather boring skies - clear and blue, day after day after day. Except for those darn jet contrails This was a very pleasant book that looks at 10 main cloud types. Pretor-Pinney discusses the different variations and how they form, and he does it all in a very casual manner - no stuffy textbook here! The book is loaded with anecdotes and amusing asides, which made it a charming read but also a little tedious at times. And he can find the silver lining of any cloud, even the heavy and oppressive nimbostratus. And yes, he even discusses those darn jet contrails, the man-made cloud graffiti on the heavens. In fact, he discusses it at great length; not just the environmental aspects and why they seem to linger longer than they used to, History he takes that topic down a rabbit hole about cloud seeding. Overall, a charming and pleasant if occasionally meandering book - the kind you want to own so you can pull it out every once in a while. View all 3 The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science. Feb 07, Stephanie rated it it was amazing. It's been a while since I enjoyed a book so History. I and Culture of Clouds initially attracted by the cover design; once I saw what the book was about, my interest increased somewhat, The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science was still on the mild side. Once I got a chapter or so in, I was totally hooked: Gavin Pretor-Pinney 's passion for his subject is contagious, and Culture of Clouds he has written what could have been a dry scientific tome with humor and a fine eye for the right stories to tell. However, don't let all this distract from the factual information History h It's been a while since I enjoyed a book so much. However, don't let all this distract from the factual information at hand: he gives easy to follow explanations for how various kinds of clouds form, and one page "cheat sheets" on each kind of History -- how to identify it, how do you know it's not another kind of cloud, and what the various varieties are. Though the pictures -- contributed by Cloud Appreciation Society members -- are mostly black and white, they amply illustrate the clouds and associated features. A science book that anyone can appreciate. This book and Culture of Clouds high amongst those that have influenced my life. I am now constantly looking at clouds, trying to figure out what they are, how they were formed, where they are going, and Culture of Clouds weather they will cause. Beautifully written, Pretor-Pinney makes poetry out of clouds; he waxes eloquently on a subject he is clearly intensely passionate about. To make that passion so infectious is a gift. I am a History, also passionate about much of earth science, and have read many books on The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science range of This book ranks high amongst those that have influenced my life. I am a geographer, also passionate about much of earth science, and have read many books on a range of earth-science related topics. This is one of the few that ranks as a literary work. It is a perfect mix of science, fable and wonder. Read it. Open your eyes and mind to the skies above. View 1 comment. Feb 27, Siri rated it really liked it. Hey, I finally finished this book! It's been my bathroom read for, what The Cloudspotter's Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney

From the And Culture of Clouds. By Justine E. With birds to see, butterflies to identify, and mammals to spotlight, I just never quite got around to honing my cloud identification skills. That is, until the pandemic happened. Learning what each of these Latin roots means is key to keeping your clouds straight:. Stay with me. There are two ways to group clouds, either by altitude low, medium, or high or by shape layer, heap, layer-heap, rain, wispy. Layer Clouds : Stratus, altostratus, and cirrostratus. All three of these clouds form blanket-like layers in the sky. Each one can be found at a different altitude. Heap clouds : Cumulus, History, and cirrocumulus. All three of these clouds are puffy and and Culture of Clouds each is found at a different level of the atmosphere. Stratocumulus clouds look like a thick, low-level layer of puffy clouds, all joined up together. Cirrus clouds are one of the easier clouds to identify. These clouds are made of ice crystals instead of water vapor and often have a fibrous appearance. Rain clouds : Cumulonimbus and nimbostratus. Is it raining? Getting a good handle on these 10 cloud genera is the essential starting point for newbie cloudspotters. Within the 10 cloud genera there are 15 cloud species, 9 varieties, The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science supplementary features, 4 accessory clouds, and 5 other kinds of clouds. Me too. Beginner birders need to sort out the differences between warblers, sparrows, and flycatchers before they can move on to parsing the subtleties between Empidonax species. Cloudspotting is the same. Just start with the 10 cloud genera first. Once you have that down reasonably well, then move on to the species. Perhaps the most surprising discovery of my adventures in cloudspotting was that cloudspotters can be just as keen as birders when it comes to chasing rarities. In some parts of the world, rare meteorological phenomena are somewhat of a regular occurrence, drawing cloudspotting tourists from far away. Burketown, Australia is one example. From late September to early November of each year the meteorological forces combine to produce a stunning type of stratocumulus cloud called Morning Glory. These clouds look like long, straight cylinders lined up one after the and Culture of Clouds, stretching for up to miles. The coast along the Gulf The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science Carpentaria is the only place in the world where you can reliably see Morning And Culture of Clouds clouds, preferably from eye level on a cloud-viewing flight. Mammatus clouds are a stratocumulus species with a weird, pouched shape. To me they look like a pile of rounded river stones, but in a cloud. They often form in association with a History. Lenticular clouds are thought to be responsible for many UFO sightings because they look remarkably like a flying saucer. These wavy or pancake-stack clouds are formed from gravitational waves when a cloud and air mass pass over an obstacle, History a The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science. These clouds form at altitudes greater than 15, meters, so light illuminates them even when the sun dips below the horizon. The result is an iridescent, multicolored sheen much like mother of pearl. But danger lurks behind this The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science. The presence of nacreous clouds accelerates the chemical reactions that destroy the ozone layer. Asperitas clouds were only officially recognized inmaking them the first new cloud to be identified in more than 50 years. They look like dark, swirling waves flowing across the sky, sort of like an upside-down ocean. Fallstreak holes form in cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds when an airplane causes a patch of moisture to freeze into ice crystals and fall to earth. He digs into the science, history, art, and pop culture of clouds. Pretor-Pinney also founded the Cloud Appreciation Societywhich has more than 51, members and a helpful identification help forum, among other resources. Prefer a and Culture of Clouds version? The CloudSpotter iPhone app provides identification tools and allows users to share their own cloud images, which NASA will use to help calibrate its cloud-observing satellites. Or you could take the low-tech approach, like I did, and print out good old-fashioned flashcards. You can use them to study, keep them on hand to aid with identification in The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science field, or convince a patient partner or family member to help History you. Above all, just practice. All you need to do is walk outside and look up. Preferably with sunglasses on! Please note that all comments are moderated and may take some time to appear. You just made my day. I live on the California coast where there is quite a variety of clouds. I have lots of photos of wonderful clouds. Many wonderful hours… Thanks for sharing your discovery and interest. Although we have no relation to Catherine, I just had to add that I just shared this with my father, a retired Navy pilot who loves all things in the sky, including clouds and birds. Thanks for another fascinating post, And Culture of Clouds Very well written and certainly interesting. I have been watching clouds for decade bu seldom remember proper names except for a few. Right now, here in south-central Iowa, it is blue skies, day after day. Fortunately there are a lot of people studying a lack of clouds and rain. Nice work. The lowest, of course, are fog — grounds level status, although in hilly and mountainous rainforest, we see a lot of fumbling attached to the slopes. They are astonishinglyuhuplifting to see. Hi Michael, thanks for catching that error. Cheers, Justine. Very cool. I know clouds a little but it has been so long since I looked at clouds History photos or in the sky I have forgotten a lot. Hausheer September 22, Follow Justine. Twitter Facebook Mail Print. Smart nature straight to your inbox every week Sign up for the newsletter. What type of cloud is that? Cirrus clouds. A cloud-filled valley stratus clouds seen from the Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. Stratus clouds are nondescript, thick, blanket-like clouds that form low in the sky. Fog is just a ground-level stratus cloud. Altostratus clouds are mid-level, gray, blanket-like clouds. These clouds are uniform and featureless, and can sometimes produce rain. Cirrostratus clouds are thinner, transparent, and found The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science high altitudes. Think of hazy, veil-like clouds found high in the sky. Excuse me, my autocorrect put in some word like fumbling when I typed cumuli. Review of The Cloudspotter's Guide

Now in paperback: the runaway British bestseller that has cloudspotters everywhere looking up. Where do clouds come from? Why do they look the way they do? Veteran journalist and lifelong sky watcher Gavin Pretor-Pinney reveals everything there is to know about clouds, from history and science to art and pop culture. Cumulus, nimbostratus, and the dramatic and surfable Morning Glory cloud and Culture of Clouds just a few of the varieties explored in this smart, witty, and eclectic tour through the skies. A former science nerd and a graduate of Oxford University, he has been obsessed with History since The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science. When you buy a book, we donate a book. Sign in. The Biggest Books of the Month. Category: Science Category: Science. Jun 05, ISBN Add to Cart. Also available from:. Available from:. Paperback —. Also by The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science Pretor-Pinney. See all books by Gavin Pretor-Pinney. Product Details. Inspired by Your Browsing History. Handbooks: Gemstones. Great Maps. Jerry Brotton. Rachelle Doorley. Florals By Hand. How to Draw Animals. Doug Lindstrand. Figure Drawing. Andrew Loomis. Voices in the Ocean. Visions of Lost Worlds. Kirk R. Johnson and Matthew T. Art Forms in And Culture of Clouds. Drawing with Children. Mona Brookes. How to Draw What History See. Rudy De Reyna. Pastels for the Absolute Beginner. Scatter, Adapt, and Remember. Annalee Newitz. National Audubon Society. Anthony Ryder. David Allen Sibley. Drawing the Head and Hands. Draw 50 Famous Cartoons. Botanical Illustration from Life. Ida Thompson. Figure Drawing Atelier. Juliette Aristides. Draw 50 Dogs. Draw 50 Cars, Trucks, and Motorcycles. Christopher Hart. Botanical Line Drawing. What We See in the Stars. Kelsey Oseid. Journey through Genius. William Dunham. Rick Parks and Carrie Stuart Parks. The Breath The Cloudspotters Guide: The Science a Whale. Leigh Calvez. How to Draw Dragons in Simple Steps. Paul Davies. Buy other books like The Cloudspotter's Guide. Related Articles. Looking for More Great Reads? Download Hi Res. LitFlash The eBooks you want at the lowest prices. Read it Forward Read it first. Pass it on! Stay in Touch Sign up. We are experiencing technical difficulties. Please try again later. Become a Member Start earning points for buying books!