Cloudspotting for Beginners

By: William Grill, Gavin Pretor-Pinney

Published by Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed, 2024-07-09

A beautifully illustrated guide to clouds and the sky for inspiring and educating curious minds with meteorological wonder.

Renowned journalist, public speaker, and founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society Gavin Pretor-Pinney details the key facts and characteristics about each major cloud type. To accompany these scientific tidbits, William Grill’s gorgeous illustrations of vast colorful skies and mesmerizing cloud patterns create a calming, thought-provoking learning experience.

From low-lying Stratus to high-flying Cirrus, Cloudspotting for Beginners covers how clouds are formed, the altitudes they prefer, the curious shapes they take, how they affect other meterological events, and more. The book breaks down the life and structure of a cloud on a molecular level, and then even expands on their interesting cross-planetary variations—for example, Jupiter’s clouds are composed of ammonia ice crystals and Saturn’s clouds congregate in an inexplicable hexagon around the planet's North Pole.

Clouds require a fascinating amount of chemical precision in order to exist, yet they disappear and form again on a daily basis with ease. Cloudspotting for Beginners is a whimsical lesson on the oft-overlooked extraordinary lives of clouds that will serve as a gentle reminder to be present and observant in the face of impermanence. Just as informative as it is poetic and peaceful, this is the perfect guide for cloud appreciators and sky lovers.