NASA calls on civilians to take pictures of clouds

NASA has started a new project in which it asks citizens to take pictures of the clouds via an app on their smartphone. The photos can be compared with satellite data collected at the same location to better map the cloud cover.

For the new project, NASA has made its Globe Observer application available, the space company explains in a news post on its website. Users who have installed the application can submit up to ten photos of the clouds to NASA per day. If the timing of the photos coincides with the tracing of the Ceres satellites, this can be used as a kind of comparison material. The Ceres project, or Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System, is being used to map the cloud cover on Earth.

NASA explains that the satellites sometimes have trouble “seeing” the clouds. For example, thin, light clouds are sometimes difficult to distinguish from snow. The photos that users have then taken in the same place can help determine what exactly the satellite data says. This means that Ceres should become better at mapping the cloud cover.

The Globe Observer application is available for both Android and iOS. Users don’t have to be experts to submit photos; NASA recommends just going outside and checking out clouds. The project will run until April 15.