Feb 5 2023 - Weather(ed) Balloon vs Chinese Lanterns

 

A weather balloon vs a spy balloon.  Spot the differences!   1. Weather balloons are small - about 20 feet across.  There aren't any the size of three buses. 2. Weather balloons are relatively unchanged since the 70s or 80s, so no expectation of the equipment on it. 3. Weather balloons go up over one particular place to about 50,000 feet.  They are up there for a few hours. They don't travel distance - maybe 100 miles from where launched. They come down. 4. Weather balloons as high altitude balloons don't have good maneuverability.  Reference point above, they go up and down.  Latest news is a US fighter fired an air-to-air missile at the balloon six nautical miles off the coast in US airspace over its territorial waters.  China say this "seriously violated international conventions." Now that it was shot down, recovery and analysis can begin.  It is in  47 feet of water and seven mile radius six miles off the Carolina coast.  I doubt we'll get many reports of what's there. Interesting, one of the articles say this was done at least three times during the Trump administration.  Today is the big Lantern Festival with celebrations all over the Toronto area.  No more competition from a flying balloon. Here are my pictures of a flying white patio umbrella crossing the sky over Stoney Creek.

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Summer Storms

I asked Farmer's Almanac:  Which is worse summer or winter storms?  I haven't found an answer.  Not so long ago I watched as a summer storm.  It had such winds that the rain was horizontal.  I had a realization that this is what a winter storm looked like - huge gusts of wind making the snow fly in sheets. I finally took a moment to look at two eye-catching stories on the Weather Network. 1. The billion year old rock found in downtown Toronto.  It made me wonder how old the earth is. It is estimated to be 4.54 billion years old. The oldest minerals analyzed to date are small crystals of zircon from the Jack Hills of Western Australia and they are at least 4.404 billion years old. 2. Grasshoppers swarming Las Vegas.  One swarm catches the light over the Luxor Hotel.  That's the Egyptian-themed hotel shaped like a pyramid so it seems fitting.  What I notice is that there are lots of images of various things with headings Las Vegas grasshopper invasion.  I consider this a pollution of the internet.  This image below matches the headline.  It has great yuk appeal.   Out image today is a tulip.  Doesn't it look like a hot air balloon?  A nice contrast with the situation in Las Vegas.

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