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It's an exciting time to have your Head In The Clouds.

Meteorologists are debating whether to seek formal Recognition for the first new cloud variety since 1951, prompted in part by Strange clouds photographed in 2006 by Jane Wiggins, a paralegal in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

She later posted the image she labeled "Armageddon" on the website of the Cloud Appreciation Society, an England-based group of more than 16,000 cloud enthusiasts created in 2005.

After several more photos of similar Formations were posted on the site, society founder Gavin Pretor-Pinney asked the royal meteorological society in Reading, England, if they depict a previously unclassified cloud type.

Wiggins' photo is part of the evidence meteorologists there are weighing as they decide whether to ask the world meteorological organization to recognize the undulus asperatus, Latin for "turbulent undulation."

Pretor-Pinney, author of several books about clouds, says the find is exciting because it shows what "changing, amorphous, ephemeral things clouds are." The evolution of the Internet and digital cameras have created "a new perspective on the sky."

Paul Hardaker, Royal Meteorological Society chief executive, calls the clouds "astonishing. ... It's not every day you get a new cloud." A four-person committee is studying whether the clouds share key characteristics: Wind, Temperature and Pressure.

If the panel concludes they are a Distinct NEW Cloud Variety, the society will recommend that the World Meteorological Organization add them to its International Cloud Atlas.

Peggy LeMone, an atmospheric scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., saw a similar cloud formation 30 years ago in Missouri. "When I saw it I didn't know what to call it," she says.

The Clouds might be caused by a moist layer of air above a dry layer without enough wind to mix the two, LeMone says.

Luke Howard, an English pharmacist, proposed the Latin naming system for clouds in the early 19th century. There are four main clouds types, with additional classifications that reflect their altitude and other characteristics. In all, Pretor-Pinney says, about 80 cloud varieties have been identified.

Pretor-Pinney says people are fascinated by Clouds because "they're the most poetic parts of nature — a part of nature that's in constant flux and change. They have an effect on our emotions ... and Imagination." The Sky, he says, is "the last wilderness."

Wiggins, whose photo was featured in a BBC documentary and by National Geographic, says she's honored that her image "could have a place in history."

"My head is always in the sky looking for something that's unusual," she says. Since the day she photographed the odd clouds, she says, "I have never seen anything like that again."By Judy Keen, USA TODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/research/2009-06-14-cloud_N.htm

Scientists at nasa are keeping close tabs on two clouds of debris from Tuesday Collision between U.S. and Russian satellites to determine how much of a risk they pose to the agency's Earth-watching spacecraft and, possibly, the hubble space telescope.



The rare collision Between a U.S. Iridium 33 communications satellite and the defunct Russian military communications satellite cosmos 2251 is unprecedented, marking the first time two intact satellites orbiting Earth have accidentally Crashed into and Obliterated one another, NASA officials said. Their smash-up created two large clouds of space debris that are currently being tracked by the U.S. Space Surveillance Network.

The debris poses a greater risk to science satellites than to the International Space Station, which is currently home to two American Astronauts and a Russian Cosmonaut, since the collision occurred 490 miles (790 km) above Siberia. The space station flies in an orbit about 220 miles (354 km) above Earth.

"This is like over 400 kilometers above the station, so we do believe that some of The Debris is going down through station altitude. But it's a very, very small minority of the debris clouds," said Nicholas Johnson, chief scientist of NASA's Orbital Debris Program Office at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. "For robotic spacecraft at higher altitudes, the answer's a little bit different. So one by one we'll be looking at those."

Earth observations satellites, such as NASA's aqua and aura spacecraft in orbit 438 miles (705 km) above Earth, are particularly vulnerable - though the risk of an impact is still low - and there's another satellite in a 497-mile (800-km) orbit just above the impact level, Johnson told Space.com late Wednesday. The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth at about 372 miles (600 km), Johnson said.

"That's a little bit farther away, but it's a lot bigger too. All that matters," Johnson said of Hubble. "It's about how close you are to the debris cloud and how big you are."

It will be weeks before the U.S. Space Surveillance Network pins down an accurate count of the number of individual Debris pieces created in the event, but unofficial estimates put the damage somewhere in the 500 count. The U.S. Space Surveillance Network is currently tracking more than 18,000 separate man-made objects and Debris at any given time, officials with the U.S. Strategic Command said Wednesday.

"This is the first time we've had two intact spacecraft collide, so it is a big deal," Johnson said. "But you know, it's not unexpected."

Johnson said that some satellites fly within a few hundred meters of each other every day. Each year, there are about six instances in which old satellites and satellite parts break apart in what scientists call "Fragmentation events." Satellite Components or spent rocket stages have accidentally collided three times before in the last 20 years.

In June 1997, an unmanned Russian Progress cargo ship Slammed into Russia's Mir Space Station, damaging a solar array and Radiator, and punching a hole in the ship's Hull that depressurized one of its modules. Unlike Tuesday's collision, that Progress Spacecraft was deliberately heading for Mir, where it was expected to dock in a rendezvous system test.

"this was going to happen," Johnson said of Tuesday's accidental collision. "There was no doubt that it was going to happen."

Johnson said the chances of a Satellite being Damaged by the debris from Tuesday's collision are admittedly low, but as the collision itself proved, such things can happen. He does not expect to see reports of many secondary impacts from the event.

He pointed out that when China Intentionally Destroyed one of its aging weather satellites during a 2007 anti-satellite test, The Impact created a Cloud of more 2,500 pieces of Debris.

"We don't know if any of them have Hit any other Satellite, alive or dead," Johnson said of the chinese test debris. "so the odds are still very small, but they're bigger today than they were two days ago."By Tariq Malik

http://www.space.com/news/090212-satellite-collision-update.html

Cloud - Hokarangen Space Program EP (2008)

Alex Berg пишет удивительную музыку. Удивительно красивую, мелодичную и атмосферную. Hokarangen Space Program - это космическая электро-тэк одиссея длиной 11 минут. «Wonderful» - говорит Ben Watt, «Excellent» - вторит ему Tom Middleton. «Electronic House of the highest calibre, lovely» - подводит итог Jimpster.

Hey everyone,

So some of you Exceptional people may have checked out our podcast before. It's our way of bringing together our latest offerings, and mixing it up with some slightly more vintage ( yet just as tasty ) sounds from the label. We're glad to present our latest offering Cool Runnings - it's another showcase of some of the finest downtempo beats and chilled-out sounds from this side of west London.

This latest installment includes a taste of recent offerings from two of Gothenburg's finest artists. Cloud presents a blend of Swedish minimal electro action to open our podcast, while deep house production duo Plej return with Borderline, a slice of lush instrumental chillout.

Elsewhere there's King Knut's seductive rework of Butti 49's nu-jazz masterpiece 'Flying', and Blu Mar Ten's dreamlike spin on a classic track... Plus classic album cuts from John Beltran, Coda and Bluprint. And of course you can check it all out for free - so why not have a clicky on one of the links below...

Subscribe to the Podcast in iTunes (any new episodes will automatically download!)
Download episode (you'll need a player that supports M4a files - try WinAmp, RealPlayer or iTunes)

TRACKLIST

Cloud - The Grid //
John Beltran - A Mind Blows Everyday //
Plej - Borderline //
Butti 49 feat. Emo - Flying (King Knut Remix) //
Coda - Holy City //
Bluprint - Freedub //
Blu Mar Ten - Drive

Hey everyone,

So some of you Exceptional people may have checked out our podcast before. It's our way of bringing together our latest offerings, and mixing it up with some slightly more vintage ( yet just as tasty ) sounds from the label. We're glad to present our latest offering Cool Runnings - it's another showcase of some of the finest downtempo beats and chilled-out sounds from this side of west London.

This latest installment includes a taste of recent offerings from two of Gothenburg's finest artists. Cloud presents a blend of Swedish minimal electro action to open our podcast, while deep house production duo Plej return with Borderline, a slice of lush instrumental chillout.

Elsewhere there's King Knut's seductive rework of Butti 49's nu-jazz masterpiece 'Flying', and Blu Mar Ten's dreamlike spin on a classic track... Plus classic album cuts from John Beltran, Coda and Bluprint. And of course you can check it all out for free - so why not have a clicky on one of the links below...

Subscribe to the Podcast in iTunes (any new episodes will automatically download!)
Download episode (you'll need a player that supports M4a files - try WinAmp, RealPlayer or iTunes)

TRACKLIST

Cloud - The Grid //
John Beltran - A Mind Blows Everyday //
Plej - Borderline //
Butti 49 feat. Emo - Flying (King Knut Remix) //
Coda - Holy City //
Bluprint - Freedub //
Blu Mar Ten - Drive

Hey everyone,

So some of you Exceptional people may have checked out our podcast before. It's our way of bringing together our latest offerings, and mixing it up with some slightly more vintage ( yet just as tasty ) sounds from the label. We're glad to present our latest offering Cool Runnings - it's another showcase of some of the finest downtempo beats and chilled-out sounds from this side of west London.

This latest installment includes a taste of recent offerings from two of Gothenburg's finest artists. Cloud presents a blend of Swedish minimal electro action to open our podcast, while deep house production duo Plej return with Borderline, a slice of lush instrumental chillout.

Elsewhere there's King Knut's seductive rework of Butti 49's nu-jazz masterpiece 'Flying', and Blu Mar Ten's dreamlike spin on a classic track... Plus classic album cuts from John Beltran, Coda and Bluprint. And of course you can check it all out for free - so why not have a clicky on one of the links below...

Subscribe to the Podcast in iTunes (any new episodes will automatically download!)
Download episode (you'll need a player that supports M4a files - try WinAmp, RealPlayer or iTunes)

TRACKLIST

Cloud - The Grid //
John Beltran - A Mind Blows Everyday //
Plej - Borderline //
Butti 49 feat. Emo - Flying (King Knut Remix) //
Coda - Holy City //
Bluprint - Freedub //
Blu Mar Ten - Drive

There's a new chilled compilation out, lovingly assembled by Ben Mynott - chilled musician from Fragile State, DJ of the Fluidnation nights at The Big Chill House and producer of Fluidnation on Chill.

It's called "The Chillout Lounge 2", and it contains lots of our favourite artists you can hear on Chill, including

Alucidnation
Tom Middleton
Ralph Myerz
Sounds From the Ground
Cloud
Hird
and Plej

We have a copy to win every day from Monday 12th to Friday 16th May. All you need to do to be in to win is email us with what you like to do when you listen to Chill.

Are you chilling with us over food with friends, or are you more of a quiet-space-alone-with-headphones type of chiller? Maybe Chill is the station you go to sleep or wake up with? Or perhaps it's your comfort zone in a stressful office? However you chill, just let us know and you'll be in to win.

Email chill@radiomail.co.uk by Friday 16th.

And to give you some inspiration, we're broadcasting more of Ben's Fluidnation mixes every weeknight 7-8pm next week. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Bern

Hi- It's been a while, but I thought it was time for another blog entry for the ambiofusion group (note it's entirely my own personal opinion!). Rather than writing too many words this time (maybe), I'll focus on the music. The following are 14 tracks I've discovered since joining last.fm- firstly that can be defined primarily as electronica across a range of sub-genres (OK, with maybe a couple of exceptions ;-)) and secondly (and more importantly) that I believe to be exceptional. Rather than struggle with a longer list, I've left out a huge number of brilliant tracks by both signed and unsigned artists, and I'm sure I've left out tracks deserving to be on here... Nevertheless, the tracks listed here never fail to mean something to me when I listen- the most important criterion for inclusion. Unfortunately many of these are not available on last.fm, but if you have a chance, try to get hold of the ones that aren't. These are tracks that stand alone, regardless of the quality of their parent albums- I'll probably write an entry focusing on albums at a later date.

Broken Drum (Boards of Canada remix)- OK, when it comes to tracks that trigger emotion, Boards of Canada are the electronic masters- but this track is unusual on this list in that I don't even own the album that it comes from (though I plan to), I own the track purely because it is a BOC remix. The initial chord sequence is nothing short of thrilling, Beck's vocal enters and it goes from there. Pure bliss.

The Matter (of Our Discussion) - featuring Nina Nastasia. Lovely vocal, brilliant lyrics, and subtle electronics from eclectic IDM producer Boom Bip, the last and the best track on Blue Eyed in the Red Room. This is light, air, and seagulls flying.

Pictobug. I know Engineers are a shoegaze band rather than an electronica band- but this track is pure ambience and isn't at all out of place here. It's not actually my favourite track from its home EP (that honour belongs to the stunning Nature's Editing)- but this, the Folly EP closer, is deep and perfect ambient.

Marble House. This is one of the most startling tracks that I heard last year. This track is hard to describe, but harder to stop listening to. Making effective and superbly controlled use of sharp electro and strangely distorted vocals, The Knife are without doubt an acquired taste, and despite its deep, duskily surreal feel this is one of the less disturbing tracks on Silent Shout. 'Marble House' somehow manages to plug straight into childhood dreams and the subconcious- and it's got a GREAT tune.

Bless This Morning Year. This has one of the best intros of any track I own. Its ambience you can melt into and then float away on as the track slowly and powerfully builds... the bassline is exciting every time it starts, and the chilled guitar is beautiful. This track alone sold me it's (highly recommended) parent album by Helios.

Round The Rigg. Unlike many of these tracks, you can actually download this one on last.fm! Stunning stereo sound and swooping melodies. A recent discovery, Christ. has rapidly become a firm favourite. He doesn't deserve to be overshadowed by his original band, Boards of Canada. The latest EP, Bike, is something I can't stop listening to.

Dayvan Cowboy. Always hard to pick just one Boards of Canada track, but the widescreen chilled guitar and electronica of Dayvan Cowboy is fully brilliant enough to be included. I don't get tired of this even though it appears on both their last EP and their last album.

As The Sun Kissed The Horizon. Maybe a bit of an unusual choice as a track, and yes, this is ambient, not electronica, and a track I expect ambiofusion members to already know, but this opener of the ambient classic Substrata somehow sums up the album for me and in a way is one of my favourite recent discoveries. A short simple yet brilliantly evocative, indeed super-real, field recording.

I'm Jimmy Carter. Independent artist vancouver sound is somehow able to capture a deep, lo-fi nostalgia with well chosen samples, minimalist melodies and hip-hop influenced beats. "I'm Jimmy Carter", like the rest of the album Lost, somehow sucks me away from my immediate surroundings.

Ambient India. The same could be said for this track. Zeropage has made what I believe to be an almost undiscovered classic electronic album, and even this stand-out track is hardly above the others in terms of quality. “Ambient India” is fresh, upbeat, smooth, evocative and transports the listener effortlessly.

Magic Mustard Machine (hifi stream)
Magic Mustard Machine is something a bit different- definitely less deep and serious than the other tracks listed here, but by no means less addictive. I've listened to this many, many times- great beatbeat, upbeat scratching and overall this track by independent artist PNFA lifts my mood every time I hear it. Unfortunately it's not available on last.fm- but you can stream it here!- just click on the link

Summer Rain by Cloud is representative of my discovery of the deep, warm, exceptional records house sound. This is a lovely track, but also very representative of their brilliant mellow sound (also check out some of the other artists on the label for equally good stuff :-))

Better Days. Another fantastic warm & funky track, I discovered Lucky Loop through last.fm radio (though unfortunately this particular track isn't there- everything by them is well worth listening to and the album Take A Look is real quality). Light, upbeat and the pizzicato melody of this track is brilliant.

Erratic Patterns. Finally, I thought I had to include something from Carbon Based Lifeforms brilliant latest album, World of Sleepers, but wasn't able to decide on a stand-out track. The quality level is so consistent I don't really have a favourite. However this one is definitely one of the best on the album... As with all their material, its clear, deep ambient-electronica, but the twisted mathematics of the vocal sample really add something extra while this perfect slice of electronics propels itself softly through the ether.

********************************************************
Here are a couple of new discoveries available on last.fm (as they are relatively new to me, they aren't part of the above list, but they have potential to make it there). They are both collaborations by Dementio13 featuring brilliant female vocals, and both very highly recommended.

deprived of my senses (ft Nita Disaster)
Clearview (feat. Pixieguts)

You can respond to this blog at the ambiOfusion forum here.