A “cloud on the horizon” means that something bad is about to happen. Meanwhile, someone with their “head in the clouds” is thoroughly out to lunch. As Gavin Pretor-Pinney points out in today’s talk, clouds get a bad rep when it comes to language.
Gavin Pretor-Pinney: Cloudy with a chance of joy
“But I think they’re beautiful, don’t you?” he says. “It’s just that their beauty is missed because they’re so omnipresent, so commonplace that people don’t notice them … unless they get in the way of the sun.”
Pretor-Pinney is the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society and, in this talk, he asks each of us to do something we excelled at when we were kids — looking up at the clouds and letting our imaginations run wild. He shows many evocative cloud formations — some created by specific, named types of clouds — and calls on us all to take part in this global Rorschach test. To that end, the Cloud Appreciation Society (which has 32,000+ members) last week released a CloudSpotter iPhone app that allows people to capture and share their own cloud images. Bonus: NASA will use anonymous data from the app to help calibrate its cloud-observing satellites.
Below, Pretor-Pinney (and a few guests) shares a few cloud images with the TED Blog.
![A heart-shaped cloud, spotted by Angelo Storari of Ancona, Italy.](http://wpvip.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/07/cloud-angelo-storari-_-ancona-italy.jpg)
A heart-shaped cloud, spotted by Angelo Storari of Ancona, Italy.
![A fish in the sky, spotted by Gavin Tobin of the Blasket Islands in Ireland.](http://wpvip.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/07/cloud-gavin-tobin-_-the-blasket-islands-co-kerry-ireland.jpg)
A fish in the sky, spotted by Gavin Tobin of the Blasket Islands in Ireland.
![Spotted by Andrew Kirk of Deep Springs, California.](http://wpvip.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/07/cloud-andrew-kirk-altocumulus-undulatus-deep-springs-ca.jpg)
Spotted by Andrew Kirk of Deep Springs, California.
![A cloud in the shape of a UFO, spotted by Ron Biggs in Puerto de la Cruz in Spain.](http://wpvip.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/07/cloud-ron-biggs-e28093-lenticularis-e28093-puerto-de-la-cruz-tenerife.jpg)
A cloud in the shape of a UFO, spotted by Ron Biggs in Puerto de la Cruz in Spain.
![Spotted by Ron Engels over Central Brazil.](http://wpvip.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/07/cloud-ron-engels-towering-cumulus-over-central-brazil.jpg)
Spotted by Ron Engels over Central Brazil.
![Clouds, in wave form. Spotted by Laurine Ayers Briel in Maui, Hawaii.](http://wpvip.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/07/cloud-lauraine-ayers-briel-_-maui-hawaii-us.jpg)
Clouds, in wave form. Spotted by Laurine Ayers Briel in Maui, Hawaii.
![Another odd shape indeed, seen by Danny McNeal of Sacramento, California.](http://wpvip.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/07/cloud-danny-mcneal-_-sacramento-california-us.jpg)
Another odd shape indeed, with bonus prismatic effect, seen by Danny McNeal of Sacramento, California.
![Some clouds over Mount Rainier, snapped by Ryan Verwest.](http://wpvip.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/07/cloud-ryan-verwest-_-mt-rainier-washington-us.jpg)
Some clouds that mimic mountains, over Mount Rainier, Washington, snapped by Ryan Verwest.
![Clouds that look like an explosion, spotted by Mick Ohrberg in Kansas City, Missouri.](http://wpvip.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/07/cloud-mick-ohrberg-cumulonimbus-kansas-city-mo.jpg)
A natural mushroom cloud, spotted by Mick Ohrberg in Kansas City, Missouri.
![A cloud waves goodbye, spotted by our own Katherine McCartney in Kenya.](http://wpvip.ted.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2013/07/cloud-katherine-mccartney_waving-bye-to-kenya.jpg)
A cloud waves goodbye, spotted by our own Katherine McCartney in Kenya.
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