NASA-CAP 2026 Aviation Skywatch Mission Datasets

The 2026 Aviation Skywatch Mission (ASM) was a nationwide effort by Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and NASA to collect atmospheric data and contrail information as pre-selected airplanes were tracked through multiple states. The Aviation Skywatch Mission focused on three mission dates (March 14, April 11, and May 16, 2026) collecting over 6,000 aviation and atmospheric observations. Overseas squadrons identified commercial aircraft in the path of squadrons in the CONUS, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and Hawai’i to track on mission dates. These pre-assigned aircrafts helped to do a relay between squadrons in different locations and states to follow these pre-assigned aircrafts as they traveled over the squadron's viewing area. Delays the aircrafts would experience caused issues when tracking pre-assigned airplanes. Squadrons that were not able to track preassigned airplanes would then target flights within their viewing area. CAP members recorded sky conditions, tracked commercial aircraft, and reported contrail types. Cloud, contrail, and airplane information was collected during three separate 4-hour mission dates (March-May). Over 1,700 commercial airplanes were tracked across the USA and Puerto Rico. CAP used the GLOBE Program’s GLOBE Observer app and paper data sheets to report cloud and contrail observations, altitude, aircraft registration number, and angle of tracked airplanes. METAR reports were gathered when possible. Photographs of the sky in the direction the airplane was first observed were taken at 0, 3, 5, 10, and 15 minutes after initial airplane observation. These images were submitted in the up direction image requested through the GLOBE Observer’s app automatic photo request. Every 15 minutes a full cloud observation was submitted through the app. Commercial airplanes were pre-assigned to squadrons based on flight paths that fit within observation times. A sort of relay was planned between squadrons in different locations and states to follow the pre-assigned aircraft as it traveled over their viewing area. Delays due to weather or other reasons that the aircrafts would experience caused issues when tracking pre-assigned airplanes. Squadrons that were not able to track preassigned airplanes would then target flights within their viewing area. Dates of data collection (8am - noon local time): 14 March 2026 / 11 April 2026 / 16 May 2026 Geographical location of the data collection: CONUS, Alaska, Hawai’i, & Puerto Rico; AWM_GeolocationGroundObservations shows maps of all observation locations per mission date. CAP locations that collected data during the Aviation Skywatch Mission (ASM_CAP_observation_locations.pdf): Files: Each zip file contains ground-cloud observations collocated to satellite data, CAP data sheets with contrail observation and aircraft information. Each folder contains subfolders with the data collected by CAP and submitted to GLOBE and the GLOBE Clouds team at NASA Langley Research Center. Subfolders contain (1) Aircraft Information, (2) Cloud Reports and Satellite Comparison, and (3) METAR data. The aircraft information collected by CAP will contain corrections and issues. Cloud reports submitted to GLOBE will contain volunteer reports with collocations to GOES and NOAA-20. METAR data was collected for multiple days and CAP regions when available. PLEASE NOTE: airplane and METAR data for March are divided by CAP regions. Airplane and METAR data for April and May are all combined together. The data obtained from NASA Langley Research Center (NASA Langley), the GLOBE Program, and Civil Air Patrol are free of charge for use in research, publications, and commercial applications. When data from NASA Langley, the GLOBE Program, and Civil Air Patrol are used in a publication, we request this acknowledgment be included, "These data were obtained from NASA Langley Research Center, the GLOBE Program, and the Civil Air Patrol." Please include such statements, either where the use of the data or other resource is described, or within the acknowledgements section of the publication. All data columns for aircraft information files: Date (DD-MM-YY), Unit Charter # (RRR-WW-000), Latitude, Longitude, City, State, GLOBE User ID, Aircraft Registration, Aircraft Type, Preassigned (yes/no), Aircraft Altitude (ft), Direction of Travel (Azimuth), Photo Sequence, Time of Photo (Local Time,) Time Zone, Time of Photo (24 hour UTC), Photo Direction (Azimuth), Altitude Angle, Contrail (Yes/No), Contrail Type (N, SL, PNS, PS, or O), Special Notes, QA, Poss Alt GlobeID, Source File All data columns for cloud reports and satellite comparison files: All variables are described in the NASA GLOBE Clouds Data Documentation (https://zenodo.org/records/18760289). All data columns for METAR files: Use https://www.weather.gov/asos/METAR.html for description of data. Data Derived from another source:The NASA GLOBE Clouds team at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, USA receives all overhead cloud reports from human observers submitted through the GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) Program. The ground-based cloud observations submitted through various protocols and methods, including the GLOBE Observer mobile app, are then collocated with satellite observations of clouds from various Earth-observing platforms, a process referred to as a satellite comparison. This data features comparisons to NOAA-20, GOES 18, and GOES 19 from CERES FLASHFlux and SatCORPS. Aircraft observation type description: Observation Type Description Notes Airplane altitude, registration number & aircraft type CAP members selected a commercial airplane to observe every 15 minutes. Altitude, registration number, and aircraft type were obtained using flight following software. Airplanes were tracked from takeoff to landing. Cloud cover and cloud types, including contrail types Percent of cloud cover and record of cloud types present through the GLOBE Observer app. If a contrail was being created by the airplane tracked, it was classified as short-lived, persistent non-spreading or persistent spreading. GO app Clouds tool (Colón Robles et al., 2020) was used to report clouds. Latitude, longitude, azimuth CAP members practiced basic orienteering to collect latitude and longitude of their location. The azimuth was measured for the tracked airplane. Sextants were used to measure direction and angles. Latitude and longitude are measured automatically by the GO app. Sky photographs In addition to sky photographs taken through the GO app, CAP members took photographs of the patch of sky when they started tracking the airplanes every 5 minutes to note any changes, particularly to contrails present. The GO app guides users to take photographs in each cardinal direction at a 14-degree angle. CAP regions definition: Great Lakes Region - Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin Mid-Atlantic Region - Delaware, Maryland, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia North Central Region - Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota Northeast Region - Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont Pacific Region - Alaska, Hawai'i, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada Rocky Mountain Region - Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado Southeast Region - Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, Tennessee Southwest Region - Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana Acknowledgements: GLOBE Clouds at NASA Langley Research Center would like to thank the following teams for their support and collaboration: Civil Air Patrol, GLOBE, CERES, FlashFLUX, SatCORPS, and ASDC. Journal References: Autore, A.M., J.B. Dodson, D.P. Duda, M. Colón Robles, S. Babb, T. M. Rogerson, R. Moore, and J. Taylor, 2026: Part 1 - The 2025 Aviation Weather Mission: Tracking Contrails with NASA and the Civil Air Patrol. Unpublished manuscript. Colón Robles, M., and Coauthors, 2026: The 2025 Aviation Weather Mission: Cadet Engagement and Evaluation Results. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., , BAMS-D-25-0232.1, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-25-0232.1, in press.