Daily iPhone App: Keep your eyes on the sky with CloudSpotter
Do you ever find yourself under a shady tree gazing up at the sky and looking at the clouds as they float by? I'm sure you can pick out familiar shapes like a dog or a cat, but can you recall the scientific names that describe these beautiful cloud formations? If not, you should check out CloudSpotter, a new app that helps you spot, photograph and identify clouds.
CloudSpotter covers 40 different types of clouds and pulls its information from Gavin Pretor-Pinney's Cloud Collector's Handbook. Besides the cloud itself, each listing also contains information on commonly confused clouds and clouds that are often seen together.
When you spot a cloud, you can capture a photo and send it to the CloudSpotter network. A team of experts will confirm the cloud, so you know whether you identified the cloud correctly. This geotagged and confirmed cloud information is also shared with NASA, which will use the data to calibrate their their CERES cloud-observing satellite instruments. Not only do you get to learn about clouds, but you also get to help our planet. Yay!
Sharing a cloud earns you points so you can unlock achievements and climb up the CloudSpotter ranking boards. Shared photos also appear on CloudStream, a live feed of photographs submitted by other cloud watchers. It's a very cool cloud network.
CloudSpotter is available for US$2.99 from the iOS App Store.
