What In The World? - Revisited

This post is just for fun. When I was a kid I spent almost all my time outside. I mean from first light until well after dark. Especially in the summer. I was always out catching bugs, toads, frogs, and occasionally snakes. To this day I'm fascinated by the natural world. I think my mom recognized this early on, and I had books on fossils, fish, birds, and mammals. And she also kept a running subscription for me to National Geographic World magazine. The first page I would look for was the "What in the world?" photo section. (This morning I did a quick search and found out it's now available online. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngkids/ )
These days I spend my time looking at satellite images trying to figure out, "What in the world is going to happen with the weather?" But there are so many satellite images that are mind boggling. And I know I'm not just being a weather geek. When I find something striking and show it to someone else, they usually are impressed by the views NASA provides. (Or their just humoring the weather geek.)
So just for fun, take a look at the images above. If you are wondering, "What in the world is that?" The first one is a composite image by Steven Running, MODIS Land Group Member, University of Montana. It's the leaf area index. Basically a baseline measure to see how the Earth's land surfaces change over time.
The second image is courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team. This one shows clouds being swirled by airflow in the arctic near Norway. Really beautiful stuff. For more amazing images check out the MODIS image library at: http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/index.php#
We may finally break our dry stretch tomorrow and Friday. The weather is finally moving again as "Ophelia" is lifting northeast this morning, and a front is sagging southeast towards us. Models indicate some places from Chattanooga and points to northwest could see 1/4" to 1/2". But I don't think most of us see that much. Still it's the best shot we have. And this weekend will be dry and comfortable.