Insight Into: Clouds

All programs produced by: Space Telescope Science Institute, Office of Public Outreach

 

All images, illustrations, and videos courtesy of NASA

 

except:

 

·       Cloud illustrations by Marc Lussier, STScI

·       Sea creature illustration copyright The National Library of Israel, Shapell Family Digitization Project and The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, _Department of Geography – Historic Cities Research Project

·       Various cloud photos courtesy of Marc Lussier

·       Valley fog photo courtesy of Lucy Albert

·       Clouds time-lapse video courtesy of Ethan Alexander Cook

·       Photo of cumulus clouds over field courtesy of PiccoloNamek, Wikipedia

·       Towering cumulus cloud photo courtesy of Jim W. Lee

·       Noctilucent cloud photo copyright Jan Erik Paulsen 

·       Noctilucent cloud photo courtesy of P-M Hedén, www.clearskies.se, www.twanight.org

 

Music courtesy of Associated Production Music

 

Written by Andrea Gianopoulos

Designed by Marc Lussier

 

(DESCRIPTION) 

Planet Earth against the blackness of space. 

 

(SPEECH) 

[GENTLE MUSIC] 

 

(DESCRIPTION) 

Text, Our sapphire-blue world has 331 million cubic miles of water. 

 

3/4 of Earth cut in the form of a pie chart. 

 

Text, Water covers about 75% of Earth's surface. 

 

Almost all of Earth's water — about 98% — is liquid, and about 2% is stored as ice and snow. 

 

Earth with the continents Europe and Africa surrounded by blue water, and an area of white at the North Pole. 

 

Text, Our atmosphere holds only 0.001 of 1% of Earth's water. 

 

A very small fraction of that condenses to form clouds. But it has an enormous effect on our lives. 

 

Clouds high in the sky range in size and shape, from wispy to fluffy. 

 

On the surface of Earth, clouds move in spiral motions in various directions. 

 

Text, Clouds influence weather and climate. 

 

Clouds carry water from one region of the planet to another. 

 

Clouds also regulate Earth's temperature by absorbing and reflecting sunlight, and by trapping heat.