You Might See Colored Clouds This Weekend (Or Maybe Not) [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Our Sisyphean task may be nearing an end. Last night's launch was scrubbed, with a rescheduled date of Saturday June 24th. If you look down at a previous update, it said "the launch window was to end June 18th, but the 19th, 20th, and 24th were added to the window. I assume that means this Saturday will just be the last chance? Or will a new window be opened? We shall see...

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UPDATE: Time is a flat circle. The launch was scrubbed for the 19th and rescheduled for Tuesday June 20th, with a launch window between 9:06 and 9:21 p.m.

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UPDATE. This is life now. The launch has been rescheduled for no earlier than Monday, June 19, with a launch window between 9:06 and 9:21pm. Project officials will meet following an afternoon weather briefing June 19 to make a determination to proceed with the count later in the day. The launch window originally was scheduled to end June 18. However, June 19, 20 and 24 have been added to the window.

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UPDATE: Sigh. The launch of a NASA Terrier Improved Malemute is now scheduled for no earlier than June 17. Weather is not conducive for a launch attempt June 15 or June 16. Stay tuned for updates.

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UPDATE: This is a joke, right? NASA is just pulling a prank. According to their website, the launch is now scheduled for no earlier than June 16, with a window from 9:05 to 9:20pm.  Weather is not conducive for a launch attempt June 14 or 15.

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UPDATE: Aw, come on! Clouds forced a postponement of last night's launch, and now NASA says weather is not conducive for a launch attempt June 14. The launch is now scheduled for no earlier than Thursday, June 15, with a launch window from 9:05 to 9:20pm.

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UPDATE: The launch is now scheduled for Tuesday, June 13, with a launch window from 9:04 to 9:19pm. The June 12 attempt was the sixth for this mission. Previous scrubs have been due to a variety of issues, such as high winds, clouds, and boats in the hazard area.

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UPDATE: The launch has been rescheduled for Monday, June 12, with a launch window from 9:04 to 9:19pm EDT.   With sunset at 8:26pm and "last light" at 8:59pm, I'm not sure how visible these clouds will be, but NASA isn't going to take my concerns into their planning.

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NASA was planning to create red and blue-green colored clouds last weekend, but bad weather conditions have forced them to postpone til June 11th.

This isn't part of a NASA plan for a laser-light show in the sky, nor is it a chemtrail conspiracy (at least that's what they want you to think #staywoke). It will actually be part of a test that NASA is doing to study the ionosphere and aurora. A rocket launch will release canisters that will deploy and create blue-green and red artificial clouds. These clouds, or vapor tracers, will allow scientists on the ground to visually track particle motions in space.

You’ll be able to watch the launch around 4am on June 11th. East Coasters from New York to North Carolina will have a chance to see the colorful clouds in person according to NASA. For everyone else, a livestream will be available. Obviously bad weather could again postpone the launch, so we'll let you know if we hear anything.

That graphic shows the estimated range of the clouds, so almost all of New Jersey will have the chance to see colored clouds.

Believe it or not, I actually took part in an experiment with the same concept in high school. My oceanography class took a field trip to the Manasquan Inlet, and we got to launch these balls made of compressed, colored powder into the surf. It was made of totally harmless ingredients, but the colors would show up in the water and allowed us to track the movement of the tides.

So if you wake up Sunday morning, don't freak out about the apocalypse, and don't worry that whatever you did Saturday night is still in your system. I mean, it might still be in your system, and for all we know it could be the apocalypse, but the clouds will be colored regardless.

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