Thursday, May 9 2013 11:43 PM EDT2013-05-10 03:43:24 GMT
Have you ever seen clouds seem to stand still while all the others around them are moving rapidly? Mountains in the West make these types of clouds fairly common. And, Arizona's mountains do a fantastic
Have you ever seen clouds seem to stand still while all the others around them are moving rapidly? Mountains in the West make these types of clouds fairly common. And, Arizona's mountains do a fantastic
Thursday, May 9 2013 5:10 PM EDT2013-05-09 21:10:01 GMT
**There will be an "annular" solar eclipse visible from Arizona on May 20, 2012.** Solar eclipses are amazing to observe. To observe them, never look directly at them. Instead, create a solar eclipse
Learn the difference between a total and an annular solar eclipse in this Weather 101 story.
Saturday, May 4 2013 12:36 AM EDT2013-05-04 04:36:22 GMT
An atmospheric pattern that remains stagnant for days on end is known as a "blocking pattern." One example of this is a "Rex Block." A Rex Block happens when high pressure is located north of low pressure,
Patterns like the "Rex Block" can result in continuous weather patterns with very little day-to-day variations.
Tuesday, March 19 2013 8:53 PM EDT2013-03-20 00:53:53 GMT
We've been taught that when spring begins, the day will have equal daylight and dark hours. In other words, that there should be 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of dark on the first day of spring. Spring
We've been taught that when spring begins, the day will have equal daylight and dark hours. That's not the case! Here's why.
Thursday, March 7 2013 1:42 PM EST2013-03-07 18:42:14 GMT
A comet is a remnant from the formation of stars and planets billions of years ago.It is made of ice and rocks.As the comet is hurled toward the sun by gravitational forces, its ice is vaporized. That
Monday, February 25 2013 6:57 PM EST2013-02-25 23:57:21 GMT
(VIDEO NOTE: THE VIDEO ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORY GIVES A GENERAL ILLUSTRATION OF THE STORY THAT FOLLOWS. IT IS FOR A SPECIFIC TIME AND SIGHTING OPPORTUNITY AND SHOULD BE USED AS A GUIDE. SPECIFIC FUTURE
A step-by-step guide to finding and recognizing the International Space Station in the night sky.
Saturday, February 2 2013 8:37 AM EST2013-02-02 13:37:24 GMT
A lot of weather folklore has roots in actual human observance of weather conditions. Take for instance the ring around the moon. A moon halo, like the one below, is said to indicate a snowstorm arriving
Is Groundhog Day linked in any way to real science? How did it start? Find out here!
Friday, February 1 2013 10:41 PM EST2013-02-02 03:41:34 GMT
Have you seen clouds like the ones in the photo below? It was taken by Astronaut Chris Hatfield (Canada) from the International Space Station. Notice the mountain range on the right side of the picture.Wind
Tuesday, December 25 2012 11:24 PM EST2012-12-26 04:24:31 GMT
Have you ever seen a ring around the moon or sun? I'm not talking about just a fuzziness around the sun or moon. I mean a discernable ring. Cirrostratus clouds, like the one in figure 1 below, are made
Light shining through ice crystals helps create a halo that can be seen around the sun or the moon.
Monday, November 12 2012 10:42 PM EST2012-11-13 03:42:33 GMT
When the wind is out of the east, Tucson is about to warm up. Here's why!The elevation in New Mexico is higher than the elevation here in Tucson. So, the air, when the wind is from the east, is originating
Air warms on its journey with an east-to-west wind from New Mexico. Learn why here!
Thursday, October 18 2012 7:13 PM EDT2012-10-18 23:13:03 GMT
Have you ever seen the edges of very thin clouds look like oil on water, like the inside of a sea shell, like a smudgy rainbow? If you have, then you've seen cloud "iridescence". It's actually quite
Have you seen a blurred, smudged rainbow in a cloud? Check out this step-by-step explanation of what nature is doing!
Thursday, September 27 2012 9:00 PM EDT2012-09-28 01:00:12 GMT
Did you see the halo around the sun that also had a couple of "extra" suns in it?Then you saw an optical phenomenon called a 22 degree halo and sun dogs.The halo itself goes around the sun at a distance
Did you see the bright lights on each side of the sun? If so, you've seen sun dogs!
Friday, September 7 2012 10:16 PM EDT2012-09-08 02:16:20 GMT
"Once in a blue moon..." It's a cliche that we hear often. It's meaning is that something only happens once in a while.A blue moon may not live up to the cliche's name, though. A blue moon happens every
Friday, August 3 2012 2:57 AM EDT2012-08-03 06:57:01 GMT
You've likely heard the phrase. And, it's not usually uttered with fondness. The "Dog Days of Summer" represents the hottest, most swealtering part of the summer. In the northern hemisphere, this is July
It's the "evil" time of year. The Dog Days of summer has its origin in Roman mythology.
Thursday, August 2 2012 12:13 AM EDT2012-08-02 04:13:41 GMT
Check out this photo. It's from Adrienne Gauthier. It has a small rainbow in it. But, that's not what's most interesting about this shot. It's the dark shadows appearing to converge in the sky on the OPPOSITE
Strange shadows that look like giant rays being emitted OPPOSITE of the sunset... here's the answer to the mystery of Anticrepuscular Rays!
Tuesday, July 10 2012 3:08 AM EDT2012-07-10 07:08:38 GMT
When storms from the Mogollon Rim aim toward Tucson, they frequently bring with them damaging wind. Unlike a "typical" Monsoon day, where storms are moving very slowly, when the "Mogollon Rim" pattern
Here's how some of the most destructive Monsoon storms form.
Wednesday, July 4 2012 11:18 PM EDT2012-07-05 03:18:47 GMT
During the Monsoon, funnel clouds sometimes greet southern Arizona, creating a unique spectacle in the sky. When the Monsoon flow, which comes from the tropics, is moving very rapidly, wind aloft will
Creating a spectacle in the sky, Monsoon storms can sometimes spawn funnel clouds. Here's why and how.
Thursday, June 28 2012 12:38 AM EDT2012-06-28 04:38:02 GMT
"Haboob" is an Arabic word referring to a giant dust storm. Unlike a localized event of blowing dust, these clouds of dust can overcome metropolitan areas of millions of people, snarling traffic and closing
Learn how historic haboobs, or giant clouds of dust, form and affect Arizona.
Tuesday, June 12 2012 1:12 AM EDT2012-06-12 05:12:09 GMT
Surges of moisture up the Gulf of California, through Rocky Point and into Arizona help enhance Monsoon storm development. They happen when clusters of thunderstorms or even dying tropical systems get
They enhance Monsoon storm development. They are Gulf Surges!
Friday, June 1 2012 12:55 AM EDT2012-06-01 04:55:04 GMT
Have you ever noticed how red sunrises and sunsets are when there is a wildfire in the area? Here's why! When the sun is directly overhead, there is not much atmosphere for sunlight to go through before
Have you ever noticed how red sunrises and sunsets are when there is a wildfire in the area? Here's why!
Monday, May 28 2012 8:29 PM EDT2012-05-29 00:29:50 GMT
Microbursts are made of wind rushing down to the ground. Once the wind hits the ground, it spreads in all directions. Wind speeds in a microburst can be 60-100mph, damaging roofs, snapping trees and knocking
How do destructive wet microbursts form? Find out in this edition of Weather 101!
Tuesday, May 15 2012 9:42 PM EDT2012-05-16 01:42:36 GMT
When wildfires or forest fires grow large enough and hot enough, they begin to control the weather around them. Pyrocumulus clouds, where "pyro" refers to fire and "cumulus" refers to billowing, form
When wildfires grow large and powerful, they begin to control or modify the weather around them. Sometimes, large clouds can form above the fire. How they form and what they are in this edition of Weather 101!
Tuesday, May 15 2012 12:31 AM EDT2012-05-15 04:31:29 GMT
During the summer months, the monsoon in the southwest US and northwest Mexico gets cranking. The term "monsoon" means seasonal change in wind pattern. In the southwestern United States, this seasonal
The monsoon and the tropics are forever linked. Here's a quick and easy lesson on how!
Tuesday, May 8 2012 11:04 PM EDT2012-05-09 03:04:54 GMT
Microbursts are common in southern Arizona during the Monsoon. They often take down power poles, leaving us in the dark and without air conditioning during the hottest part of the summer! Although microbursts
They are some of the most destructive storms in the Southwest. Learn about "microbursts" here.
Tuesday, May 8 2012 12:48 AM EDT2012-05-08 04:48:17 GMT
On a really hot day the landscape between Tucson and Phoenix is often dotted with huge dust devils: swirling wind that resembles a tornado, but that has no cloud above it. Here is a dust devil in Arizona: Figure
Dust devils can do some serious damage! That, and they are fascinating! Learn how they form in this edition of Weather 101: Dust Devils!
Friday, May 4 2012 11:56 PM EDT2012-05-05 03:56:02 GMT
The moon's path around the earth is not a perfect circle. As a result, it is closer at times and farther at others from the earth. When it is at its closest to earth, it is a point we call "perigee".
The moon will create stronger tides and look bigger during a "super moon." Find out all about it here!
Tuesday, May 1 2012 3:10 AM EDT2012-05-01 07:10:43 GMT
OK, admit it! On a really windy day, you've noticed that the water in the toilet is moving. But, the plumbing is underground, so how can wind affect it? Every toilet has a vent pipe that goes outside.
An interesting science principle is at play when the water in your toilet is jiggling on a windy day.
Tuesday, March 13 2012 5:39 PM EDT2012-03-13 21:39:02 GMT
Clouds often take shapes that make our imaginations go wild. One type of cloud that appears to really live up to its nickname is Altocumulus Castelanus, otherwise known as "Jellyfish Clouds."
Tuesday, January 24 2012 9:02 PM EST2012-01-25 02:02:47 GMT
One of the most beautiful things in nature, the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights are the visible manifestation of particles hurling from the sun toward earth. How do they form?
Thursday, January 19 2012 11:50 PM EST2012-01-20 04:50:28 GMT
The continental United States has been drier and warmer than normal this winter. Alaska, on the other hand, has been burried in snow. One major reason for this is a Positive Phase Arctic Oscillation. Find out what it's about in this article.
Monday, May 20 2013 8:34 AM EDT2013-05-20 12:34:10 GMT
On Sunday May 19th, The Discover Channel premieres the new high-definition series 'North America'. In the Exclusive First Look Video saguaros are featured, as well as the flocks of sandhill cranes that
In the Exclusive First Look Video saguaros are featured, as well as the flocks of sandhill cranes that gather each winter in Southeast Arizona.
Saturday, May 18 2013 12:46 PM EDT2013-05-18 16:46:05 GMT
The new research found glaciers outside of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, repositories of 1 percent of all land ice, lost an average of 571 trillion pounds (259 trillion kilograms) of mass every
A new study of glaciers worldwide using observations from two NASA satellites has helped resolve differences in estimates of how fast glaciers are disappearing and contributing to sea level rise.
Friday, May 17 2013 9:59 AM EDT2013-05-17 13:59:25 GMT
For the past 8 years, NASA astronomers have been monitoring the Moon for signs of explosions caused by meteoroids hitting the lunar surface. "Lunar meteor showers" have turned out to be more common than
"Lunar meteor showers" have turned out to be more common than anyone expected, with hundreds of detectable impacts occurring every year.
Wednesday, May 15 2013 9:40 PM EDT2013-05-16 01:40:33 GMT
For the first time since its discovery, Comet ISON has approached the inner solar system. It is currently located just inside Jupiter's orbit and within six months should be at its closest location to
Comet ISON is nearing planet Earth. It is currently inside Jupiter's orbit getting close to the inner solar system. By late this year it could become the brightest object in the night sky.
Saturday, May 4 2013 1:50 PM EDT2013-05-04 17:50:29 GMT
PASADENA, Calif. - A new NASA airborne mission has created the first maps of the entire snowpack of two major mountain watersheds in California and Colorado, producing the most accurate measurements to
NASA is now able to create accurate maps to determine the amount of water contained within mountain snowpack.
