Read an Excerpt
Introduction:
The sky is a constant reminder of both the power and the beauty of nature. The atmosphere that surrounds Earth is a complex weather machine -- fascinating to watch and, occasionally, a brutal experience to suffer.
While we have the technology to observe storms and to predict the weather, we cannot control it. Even in our advanced scientific age, tornadoes still kill more than 100 people a year in North America, and when a hurricane blows in off the Atlantic Ocean, we are powerless to prevent it from destroying homes and flooding towns. A blizzard can still shut down a city for days at a time, just as it did 50 years ago. And long droughts can destroy an entire nation's economy, leading to starvation for tens of thousands of people who can only wait helplessly for rain.
But the sky is more than just a place where disaster brews. It is an important part of our environment that can be studies and enjoyed as much as forests and fields and oceans. The day sky is our window on the weather and even on space, where the sun is millions of times more distant than the outer edge of the Earth's atmosphere. Our atmosphere shields us from the sun's harmful rays, acts as a buffer from the lifeless vacuum of space and, at the same time, gives us the colors of the sky.
Weather of all kinds can be observed by everyone without any special equipment. We can watch storms approaching and appreciate why changes in weather occur. We can classify clouds and interpret their meaning. We can understand rainbows and measure the distance to lightning bolts.
The sky is alive, changing constantly, often before our eyes. All we need do is look up to enjoy the glory of one of nature's most fascinating and accessible phenomena.
