The society for people who love the sky

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Today's Cloud-a-Day

Sunday 27th July 2025

Ruth Quist (Member 49,516) saw a big splash in the sky over Charlo, Montana, US. This is an example of a mighty Cumulonimbus storm cloud that is dissipating and losing its power. The lower part of the cloud will likely shower itself away, …

Cloud of the Month

July 2025

Circumhorizon Arc – The Horizontal HaloThe family of optical effects known as halo phenomena are caused by the Sun shining through cloud ice crystals that act like tiny, floating prisms and mirrors, bending and reflecting the light. The ‘halo’ in the name suggests these effects appear circular, or, at least, in the shape of arcs, but […]

Download Our Free CloudSpotter App

Discover the wonders of clouds with our CloudSpotter app.

Discover the amazing world of clouds with your pocket guide to the wonders of the sky and have your spottings verified as you build a collection of clouds.

Our CloudSpotter app will teach you how to spot 58 different cloud formations and optical effects, from the common ones like Cumulus clouds and rainbows to rare ones like the fleeting fluctus cloud or the hard to spot circumzenithal arc. Learn what makes each formation special with expert text from the Cloud Appreciation Society and stunning reference photographs by our app users around the world.

Build up your own Collection of spottings and use our innovative tools to find out what type of clouds or optical effects you’ve spotted. See New Spottings by other users around the world and say (with our help) if you think they got the clouds right. CloudSpotter can even analyse your image and say what cloud types it thinks you’ve spotted. Becoming an expert cloudspotter has never been easier or more fun!

Cloudspotting for Beginners

A collaboration with award-winning illustrator William Grill, Cloudspotting for Beginners is a stunning introduction to clouds and the sky. We are very proud of this beautiful hardback book. Charming, uplifting, and easy to understand for all ages, Cloudspotting for Beginners will inspire anyone curious about clouds to look up at the sky with a new understanding and appreciation.

Our Memory Cloud Atlas

On Cloud Appreciation Day, Friday September 13th, 2024, friends and members of the Cloud Appreciation Society contributed photographs of their skies to our Memory Cloud Atlas. The Atlas was open for contributions on this day only. It stands as a snapshot of a world looking up and appreciating the sky on one particular day.

Recent Clouds Spotted

New from our Members

Cloud Poetry
Kate Edge, Member 30,633, an artist from Pembrokeshire ...
Cloud Music
Dan Barstow, Member 41,557 introduced us to the ...
Cloud Videos
Rex Nelson, Member 62,159 sent us a timelapse ...
Cloud Art
Schar Freeman, Member 54,318 resides on the island of ...

A Survival Kit for the Imagination

Our downloadable lesson plans and resources for schools and homeschools teaching about the sky.

News

A Head in the Clouds Exhibition

Leah Margosis, Member 44,374, recently contacted about an exhibition at the Storage Art Gallery in New York featuring artist, Jacqueline Gourevitch.  The exhibition is called “A Head in the Clouds” and, while it is closing on August 1 2025, you can still view it online. Jacqueline Gourevitch was born in 1933 and the exhibition includes […]

Noctilucent Clouds: A Citizen Science Project

Noctilucent cloud season is upon us in the Northern Hemisphere, and NASA has a citizen science project for noctilucent cloudspotters to get stuck into. Forming in summer months at altitudes of around 50 miles (80.5 km), noctilucent clouds are Earth’s highest clouds. They are only visible during twilight hours, when the rest of the sky […]

Celebrating 250 Years of J.M.W. Turner

Timothy J Schmidt, Member 51,199 came across an article by journalist, Dan Mobbs, on the Invaluable.com blog celebrating 250 years of J.M.W Turner (1775-1851).  Mobbs’ tells us “as The Painter of Light, Turner’s work evolved from the precise topographical tradition of the 18th century towards something entirely new and abstract. His seascapes churned with drama […]