Students' Cloud observations On-Line

The S'COOL Project involves people (ages 5-99) in real science, taking and reporting ground truth observations of clouds to assist in the validation of NASA's Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments. CERES is an important tool for scientists who study how atmospheric moisture affects our weather and climate. The observations made by S'COOL help to provide another piece of the puzzle. The project, which began in 1997, is coordinated with a trio of low Earth orbit satellites that carry CERES instruments. S'COOL was developed from the beginning in coordination with teachers who sought a safe, simple and cheap way to unite students with NASA. In 2008 technology advances enabled S'COOL to accept observations from citizen scientists anywhere in the world. Beginning in 2016, S'COOL is integrated with GLOBE cloud observations.