FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What are gravity waves?
The word "gravity" in the word gravity wave can make the term more confusing than it really is. It has little to do with having a special relationship with gravity. All air motions are influenced by gravity. Once the word gravity is eliminated, all that is left is the word wave. Please see the Research page for more information.
Why study gravity waves?
- Their effects on the climate system of a planet are both tremendous and varied. The momentum transport by gravity waves is of great importance to the atmospheric circulation, structure, and variability, especially in the middle atmosphere.
- Gravity waves also have the potential to create significant impacts, especially in aviation.
Please see the Research page for more information. - Gravity waves can also effect satellites and the spacecraft reentry zone.
Should I be able to see gravity waves or instabilities in every video clip?
Not every video clip will have something to report on. You may go through numerous videos without spotting anything. But keep at it, they are there!
I saw a wave, but I'm not sure if it was a gravity wave or an instability - what should I do?
Try taking a look at some examples in the field guide. If you are still unsure, just take your best guess.
I saw a bright dot move across the video - what was it?
Probably it is a meteor, or shooting star.
The video looks grey, does that mean it's cloudy?
Yes, clouds have likely moved across the sky. We do our best to not include data of cloudy nights; however, sometimes what seems to be a perfectly clear night can turn into a cloudy one.
There appears to be a strange anomaly that's not moving in the video - what is it?
If it's a small anomaly, it is likely a bug on the camera dome. The way we process the raw data can make an insect on the dome look like a water smudge in the video. If it is a strange, elongated oval shape, it is the moon. This happens because the imager sits under a dome; when the moon shines on one side, the light gets bent and refracted and will appear in multiple spots.
I saw something weird that doesn't match any of the examples, what shall I do?
Just choose what you think is the closest match, and then press “Done and Talk” at the end of the classification to tell us about it in the Talk forum!