NASA Satellite Snaps Rare Cloud-Free Ireland

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NASA Satellite Snaps Rare Cloud-Free Ireland

Posted by timothy on Thursday March 17, 2011 @10:40AM from the whiskey-free-ireland-not-available dept.

coondoggie writes "NASA's Aqua satellite recently snapped a cloud-free shot of Ireland. The cloud-free view is extremely rare as the country is almost entirely cloud covered 50% of the time according to the Irish Meteorological Service, Met Éireann. There are more clouds during the day than at night, and fog is common."

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Go figure by yeshuawatso · 2011-03-17 10:40 · Score: 4, Funny

No wonder they drink so much. Every time they go outside and look up, all they see is a depressing cloud blocking all the sunlight. Being sh*t faced is probably the only way to get the gloom out of the day.
1. Re:Go figure by ackthpt · 2011-03-17 10:43 · Score: 1
  
  No wonder they drink so much. Every time they go outside and look up, all they see is a depressing cloud blocking all the sunlight. Being sh*t faced is probably the only way to get the gloom out of the day.
  By that same logic you'd find more drunks in London than in Dublin.
  
  --
  
  A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
2. Re:Go figure by yeshuawatso · 2011-03-17 10:47 · Score: 2
  
  Never been to Ireland nor London, so, at this point, I don't have logic, just random ramblings.
3. Re:Go figure by Hazel+Bergeron · 2011-03-17 10:53 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Ireland learnt its two-decade lesson about monetary policy and raised the cloud tax. The invisible hand of God moved the clouds somewhere cheaper...
  (...perhaps to Wales, which is reluctantly under Her Majesty's rule, but allows us some payback in local cloud tax for the support we've loaned to our green neighbours. Britain's main industry is clouds, you see... and only the white ones, since Thatcher abolished the black sooty ones after a wrestling match with Arthur Scargill in 1984.)
4. Re:Go figure by Gordonjcp · 2011-03-17 10:59 · Score: 1
  
  I don't know, look at Florida. I can't think of anything more utterly depressing than that relentless heat and glare.
5. Re:Go figure by Osgeld · 2011-03-17 11:00 · Score: 1
  
  pet peeve, is it really necessary to quote the fucking post right above yours when your not pointing out a specific part?
  quote != reply
6. Re:Go figure by ischorr · 2011-03-17 11:04 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Pet peeve - is it really necessary to misspell "you're" as "your", throw in unnecessary profanity, and generally use bad grammar/capitalization/etc?
  If you're going to be a pedant on style, at least use good style.
7. Re:Go figure by ColdWetDog · 2011-03-17 11:15 · Score: 2
  
  I don't know, look at Florida. I can't think of anything more utterly depressing than that relentless heat and glare.
  Trenton, New Jersey?
  
  --
  Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
8. Re:Go figure by vertinox · 2011-03-17 11:22 · Score: 1
  
  Never been to Ireland nor London, so, at this point, I don't have logic, just random ramblings.
  *whoosh*
  
  --
  "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
  -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
9. Re:Go figure by pushing-robot · 2011-03-17 11:34 · Score: 1
  
  Because if the parent's post gets modded down or yours gets modded up, people might see your post and not the parent, and wonder what the hell you're replying to.
  Bonus points if your post gets shown directly after its GP or GGP, so people think your reply is completely off-topic or your reading comprehension sucks.
  
  --
  How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
10. Re:Go figure by shaitand · 2011-03-17 11:37 · Score: 2
  
  "pet peeve, is it really necessary to quote the fucking post right above yours when your not pointing out a specific part?"
  Necessary? No. Courteous? Yes. I for one don't want to have to read back through previous posts to figure out which of my posts you are replying to when your response comes up in my messages three weeks later.
  Note how you don't have to dig back through the previous posts to know what I'm talking about. Isn't that nice? I think so too.
11. Re:Go figure by yeshuawatso · 2011-03-17 11:54 · Score: 2
  
  I've got mod points but can't use them to mod this up funny.
12. Re:Go figure by yeshuawatso · 2011-03-17 11:57 · Score: 1
  
  Avoid Arkansas then; nothing but heat, humidity, and tornadoes.
13. Re:Go figure by PsychoSlashDot · 2011-03-17 12:04 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  im sorry, I did not realize I was on the association of anal retentive english majors page, its just a forum post don't go killing yourself over it
  ok so here is why, even though my post was atrocious by professor tightass standards, you still understood it, when one quotes the entire parent for zero reason it makes it harder to filter garbage from comment, cause you see, all the comments are squashed down so only the first line is shown.
  but hey if you want all your comments to look like someone is a retarded parrot then whatever, its just a pet peeve, please dont piss your pants
  Relax. You're wrong. Get used to it. First up, if you're going to inform someone "you're doing it wrong", it behooves you to do it correctly. If you fail, the consequence is minor; ridicule. So don't get so defensive (and offensive at the same time); you screwed up while criticizing someone. You're fair game.
  Second, as to your original complaint, you're still wrong. I can't speak for the rest of Slashdot's users, but I suspect at least some behave as I do. I sometimes deliberately read comments nested two or three deep into a thread. Sometimes it's because I'm intrigued by a couple words that make it into the single-line summary. Having the parent quoted is convenient for me. It saves me having to expand the parent then scroll back down simply to gain the context that I could have had were it quoted in the first place. Simply put, by quoting the parent a post becomes self-contained and meaning-complete. Without quoting it is referential and fragmentary. It is easier to ignore data that is present than it is to obtain information that is not. Philosophically-speaking, parent-quoting is a superior practice.
  Thirdly, for my own amusement, I'd like to inform you that it doesn't require an "anal-retentive english (sic) major" to appreciate or produce grammatically correct writing. I'm entirely sure that my post has plenty that a professional could point out as flawed yet I still strive for a higher level of correctness than you can be bothered to. There's one. People who obviously don't even try to be accurate convey an air of laziness. As well, there's an underlying message: "my words are untidy and so too is my mind." Right or wrong, whenever you can't be bothered to capitalize letters, use apostrophes, punctuate, and generally ill-express yourself, you're asking to not be taken seriously. Why bother writing at all if you're not trying to be heard?
  
  --
  "Oh no... he found the .sig setting."
14. Re:Go figure by digitig · 2011-03-17 12:07 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  im sorry, I did not realize I was on the association of anal retentive english majors page
  You must be new here.
  
  --
  Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
15. Re:Go figure by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 12:24 · Score: 0
  
  Pet Peeve, I hate when people impose their own personal pet peeves on a forum that has millions of readers because after all they are the center of the world. After all, I am the center so nur nur!!!
16. Re:Go figure by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 12:24 · Score: 0
  
  a fella was supposed to have a good weekend in Dallas, ya know...
17. Re:Go figure by Kryptonian+Jor-El · 2011-03-17 12:26 · Score: 1
  
  Sorry, I'm not in the drunk-finding business
  
  --
  All your 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 are belong to us
18. Re:Go figure by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 12:26 · Score: 0
  
  haha, ya'll arguing over the irish or the english drinking more? Talk about pedantic. We all know the hill billies of the US take the cake in that contest.
19. Re:Go figure by russbutton · 2011-03-17 12:36 · Score: 1
  
  If it wasn't for wheelbarrows, the Irish would still be on all-fours...
20. Re:Go figure by dwywit · 2011-03-17 13:44 · Score: 1
  
  Australia calling on line 2
  
  --
  They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
21. Re:Go figure by PopeRatzo · 2011-03-17 13:58 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  pet peeve, is it really necessary to quote the fucking post right above yours when your not pointing out a specific part?
  Yes, it is necessary. Clearly you've never meta-moderated here or you'd understand why quoting the portion of previous post in your reply is important.
  Also, it's just good manners. When someone makes a half-dozen points, a three-word post doesn't really help the reading flow for those of us who actually like to follow conversations. I prefer conversations to a list of posts of people just tossing out their words like so many bumper stickers.
  You're probably used to Twitter, where there are no conversations, just one bumper sticker after another, at best, and at worst isolated meaningless strings of words, misspelled and tossed out like spit on sidewalk.
  
  quote != reply
  Pet peeve: people who are so uncomfortable with the language that they have to try to make a point using logical operators or snippets of code. Nobody here is impressed that you've done a PHP tutorial. This is why we need to have better funding for schools (including trade schools for people like you who have never learned to write clearly and convincingly in their native language).
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
22. Re:Go figure by gstoddart · 2011-03-17 15:31 · Score: 1
  
  No wonder they drink so much. Every time they go outside and look up, all they see is a depressing cloud blocking all the sunlight. Being sh*t faced is probably the only way to get the gloom out of the day.
  Funny, reminds me of San Francisco, or what I'm told Seattle is like ... Maybe I was unlucky and always travelled to San Fran mostly in the crappy, damp seaon, but it didn't feel like a happy place to me.
  Cold, wet, and miserable do not make for an upbeat environment.
  
  --
  Lost at C:>. Found at C.
23. Re:Go figure by luckymutt · 2011-03-17 16:31 · Score: 1
  
  ...to misspell "you're" as "your", throw in...
  Hey grammar Nazi asshole - punctuation goes on the inside of the closing quotation mark.
  If you're going to be a pedant on grammar, at least use proper grammar.
24. Re:Go figure by hutsell · 2011-03-17 16:31 · Score: 1
  
  ... and Chiggers.
  
  --
  Yesterday's Weirdness is Tomorrow's Reason Why
25. Re:Go figure by quietlikeachurch · 2011-03-17 16:52 · Score: 1
  
  Well done sir!
  
  --
  "One day you will be able to hurt your smart phone's feelings." - Mahhshall
26. Re:Go figure by X0563511 · 2011-03-17 17:02 · Score: 1
  
  Yea, and hot, bright, and dry do not either.
  We enjoy a happy middle-ground.
  
  --
  For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
27. Re:Go figure by davester666 · 2011-03-17 17:34 · Score: 1
  
  Criminals don't need clouds to drink all day and night.
  
  --
  Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
28. Re:Go figure by ModernGeek · 2011-03-17 18:16 · Score: 1
  
  That all depends on the variation of English spoken.
  
  --
  Sig: I stole this sig.
29. Re:Go figure by dwywit · 2011-03-17 18:19 · Score: 1
  
  No, but it makes a difference to WHAT we drink. Day=beer, night=beer, dry=beer, wet=beer, snow=whiskey or rum, BBQ=1 glass of red wine permitted, otherwise beer, clear skies=clear beer, cloudy skies=cloudy beer (homebrew or Cooper's). See? It's simple!
  
  --
  They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
30. Re:Go figure by ThePromenader · 2011-03-17 18:48 · Score: 1
  
  Normally, drunks find ~you~.
  
  --
  
  No, no sig. Really.
  
  ThePromenader
31. Re:Go figure by glodime · 2011-03-17 19:18 · Score: 1
  
  Because if the parent's post gets modded down or yours gets modded up, people might see your post and not the parent
  Not to worry. The new version of slashcode will hide your post if the parent post is not modded high enough. Even if your post is modded +5.
32. Re:Go figure by painehope · 2011-03-17 20:30 · Score: 1
  
  I agree with everything (because they are major pet peeves of mine) but the "unnecessary profanity" bit. If you're trying to make a point, throw in a cuss word. People catch the emphasis.
  
  --
  PC moderators can suck my White pierced, tattooed dick. If you think pride == hate, s/dick/Aryan meat mallet/g.
33. Re:Go figure by MartinSchou · 2011-03-17 20:33 · Score: 1
  
  Why bother writing at all if you're not trying to be heard?
  Maybe he's trying to be read?
34. Re:Go figure by painehope · 2011-03-17 20:41 · Score: 1
  
  Also, it's just good manners
  /. and manners? Half of the people on here are kids that should just STFU until they have gotten out of school, their parents' house, and had to work for a living. The other half are people that just need to come out of their lair they've built in their parents' basement other than when they go to work or go pay the pizza boy. Out of those two halves, at least 75% of them need more exercise, and would get more dates if they didn't mention that they play D&D* and then launch into a description of their latest campaign to whatever poor chick gets stuck next to them at the bar. And, coincidentally, 25% of the whole also needs to realize that their little politically correct fairy-tale world will not exist, and if it did it would be the greatest fascist state mankind has ever known. Of those 25%, 100% need to stop referring to WWII-era Nazis whenever I post on a social, as opposed to technical, issue of the article.
  * Yes, I play (sometimes). Do I tell women before we've gotten to the mad monkey love stage? Fuck no. If I let a chick read most of the titles of books on my shelves, she'd realize that I'm obsessed with computers, fantasy and science fiction, new and interesting ways to blow shit up, and other things that rate slightly above an ankle monitor in scaring women off.
  
  --
  PC moderators can suck my White pierced, tattooed dick. If you think pride == hate, s/dick/Aryan meat mallet/g.
35. Re:Go figure by painehope · 2011-03-17 20:48 · Score: 1
  
  I don't know, look at Florida. I can't think of anything more utterly depressing than that relentless heat and glare.
  Trenton, New Jersey?
  Try any populated place in Utah. Or any place with water (in Utah, of course). Do you realize that people still shoot each other there over water rights? Yes, I'm a major proponent of the 2nd Amendment, but when I find myself having to shoot my neighbors in order to get water, I'd just fucking move. Well, I'd move anyways. Utah screams "inbreeding!" the way the Bush family screams "hereditary insanity!".
  
  --
  PC moderators can suck my White pierced, tattooed dick. If you think pride == hate, s/dick/Aryan meat mallet/g.
36. Re:Go figure by 1u3hr · 2011-03-17 20:48 · Score: 1
  
  pet peeve, is it really necessary to quote the fucking post right above yours when your not pointing out a specific part?
  Yes, because the one "right above" might not be visible later if it's modded down, or if the reader has different viewing preferences, and then you appear to be calling the wrong person an asshole.
37. Re:Go figure by painehope · 2011-03-17 20:50 · Score: 1
  
  Avoid Arkansas then; nothing but heat, humidity, and tornadoes.
  I can think of a lot better reasons to avoid Arkansas than those 3 things. When you consider the fact that Bill Clinton was actually one of the better aspects of the state, and it's all down-hill from there, that's a major warning sign in and of itself.
  
  --
  PC moderators can suck my White pierced, tattooed dick. If you think pride == hate, s/dick/Aryan meat mallet/g.
38. Re:Go figure by painehope · 2011-03-17 20:57 · Score: 1
  
  No wonder they drink so much. Every time they go outside and look up, all they see is a depressing cloud blocking all the sunlight. Being sh*t faced is probably the only way to get the gloom out of the day.
  what I'm told Seattle is like ...
  Cold, wet, and miserable do not make for an upbeat environment.
  Yeah, but in Seattle you can (a) laugh at the transvestites, (b) any time you want, SPD will find a reason to arrest you and keep you for 6 months (no kidding - they tried to give me a six month sentence for carrying a pocket knife, until they realized that I was from another state, in-town for a convention, and my employer would make a huge stink about them doing so, so instead they gave me 2 years probation and said "no, you don't have to report in, just leave when the convention is over"), and (c) the computer industry is really big there (so a lot of people in Seattle never expect or want to see sunlight anyways).
  
  --
  PC moderators can suck my White pierced, tattooed dick. If you think pride == hate, s/dick/Aryan meat mallet/g.
39. Re:Go figure by michelcolman · 2011-03-17 22:08 · Score: 1
  
  I agree. There's no such thing as "unnecessary profanity".
40. Re:Go figure by michelcolman · 2011-03-17 22:11 · Score: 1
  
  pet peeve, is it really necessary to quote the fucking post right above yours when your not pointing out a specific part?
  quote != reply
  I don't see why the decision whether or not to quote a post should be determined by whether or not the post is about fornication.
41. Re:Go figure by Noodlenose · 2011-03-17 22:16 · Score: 1
  
  Quod erat demonstrandum.
42. Re:Go figure by yeshuawatso · 2011-03-17 22:16 · Score: 1
  
  There are several reasons to avoid Arkansas like any other state, but you have to admit, for a redneck state, we pump out quite a bit: Largest retailer and largest company in the WORLD is here. Largest chicken producer in the USA is here 2nd largest in the World, albeit legally a Delaware Corp. One of the largest medium/up-scale retailers here, the original company that made Verizon the largest wireless carrier in the country, one of the largest oil companies in America and one of the largest companies in the US in general. Not bad for a state with literally backward thinking citizens. May not be as impressive as California, Texas, or New York, but for a state with only 2.5 million people, we hold our own.
  As far as Clinton, there is an unspoken 11th commandment in Arkansas: thou shall not speak ill of the nation's favorite President of the 20th century.
43. Re:Go figure by Noodlenose · 2011-03-17 22:17 · Score: 1
  
  ..a forum that has millions of readers
  I think you mean Reddit.
44. Re:Go figure by qubezz · 2011-03-17 22:43 · Score: 1
  
  ... and Chiggers.
  Hey, only we can use that word!
45. Re:Go figure by hutsell · 2011-03-18 00:27 · Score: 1
  
  I didn't realize blood sucking ticks were capable of speaking our language--let alone being able to type.
  
  --
  Yesterday's Weirdness is Tomorrow's Reason Why
46. Re:Go figure by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-18 00:45 · Score: 0
  
  ..a forum that has millions of readers
  I think you mean Reddit.
  He said "forum", not "turdspurt".
47. Re:Go figure by PopeRatzo · 2011-03-18 00:49 · Score: 1
  
  Painehope, you are hopelessly behind the times. Your romantic image of Slashdot as full of parents'-basement-living losers wants its 1995 back.
  Stop thinking of Slashdot as a mirror. And, "chick"? Really?
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
48. Re:Go figure by Coren22 · 2011-03-18 01:24 · Score: 1
  
  Mmm, beer.
  I think I need to get some good beer for tonight.
  
  --
  APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
49. Re:Go figure by tehcyder · 2011-03-18 02:19 · Score: 1
  
  We were talking about drinking alcohol, not recycled koala piss or whatever it is you use to make Foster's..
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
50. Re:Go figure by tehcyder · 2011-03-18 02:23 · Score: 1
  
  im sorry, I did not realize I was on the association of anal retentive english majors page
  No, they're down the hall. This page is for anal rentntive programming geeks, who can have vicious arguments about the use of whitespace, never mind actual characters.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
51. Re:Go figure by tehcyder · 2011-03-18 02:27 · Score: 1
  
  Why bother writing at all if you're not trying to be heard?
  Maybe he's trying to be read?
  Fuck me, you're stupid.
  Just for the record "heard/hearing" doesn't just refer to the physical recognition of sounds through the ears. "The shot that was heard around the world" wasn't, in fact, literally heard by everyone on the planet. Most of them read about it later.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
52. Re:Go figure by tehcyder · 2011-03-18 02:29 · Score: 1
  
  I agree. There's no such thing as "unnecessary profanity".
  Cunt.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
53. Re:Go figure by tehcyder · 2011-03-18 02:30 · Score: 1
  
  Because if the parent's post gets modded down or yours gets modded up, people might see your post and not the parent
  Not to worry. The new version of slashcode will hide your post if the parent post is not modded high enough. Even if your post is modded +5.
  Genius, where do they keep getting these fantastic ideas from?
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
54. Re:Go figure by tehcyder · 2011-03-18 02:37 · Score: 1
  
  I don't know, look at Florida. I can't think of anything more utterly depressing than that relentless heat and glare.
  Yeah, it makes you wonder what anyone sees in it. You lucky, lucky bastard.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
55. Re:Go figure by tehcyder · 2011-03-18 02:45 · Score: 1
  
  re: your sig
  We always welcome new gay posters too. Have fun now!
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
56. Re:Go figure by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-18 08:05 · Score: 0
  
  Ireland has the lowest per-capita consumption of alcohol in Europe; they just got the rep because their young lads went away to work. And what do young lads away from home occasionally do?
57. Re:Go figure by dwywit · 2011-03-18 09:27 · Score: 1
  
  We make cider, too.
  
  And Foster's isn't considered beer by anyone except its maker.
  
  --
  They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
Looks just like a Little Piece of Heaven by ackthpt · 2011-03-17 10:42 · Score: 1

I imagine it fell from the sky one day and landed in the ocean very far away...

--

A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Good news! by MobileTatsu-NJG · 2011-03-17 10:44 · Score: 2, Funny

They finally killed the last male Bundy!

--

"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
Photoshop by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 10:46 · Score: 0

Has to be a composite image done with Photoshop, or they used that cool feature that you can erase things with. Anybody who has looked up at the sky in Ireland, knows this image is a work of digital imagination.
Wow. by BJ_Covert_Action · 2011-03-17 10:47 · Score: 1

Look how utterly green it is. That's pretty slick...

--
Motorcycles, Robots, Space Gossip and More!
1. Re:Wow. by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 11:52 · Score: 0
  
  That how you actually get the green beer to St. Patrick's day. You just squeeze an Irish and here comes the beer.
2. Re:Wow. by tehcyder · 2011-03-18 02:47 · Score: 1
  
  They don't call it the Emerald Isle because of its fabulous profusion of natural gemstones, you know.
  
  --
  To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
There I fixed it by atari2600a · 2011-03-17 10:49 · Score: 2, Interesting

It was hard to look at, so I ran it through The GIMP's auto-white-balance filter. Was this really that hard for NASA's PR guys to do? http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k196/atari2600a/Ireland_amo_2010284.jpg
1. Re:There I fixed it by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 10:59 · Score: 1
  
  That looks awful, and realistic... kind of like high-end LCD monitors.
2. Re:There I fixed it by blair1q · 2011-03-17 11:39 · Score: 1
  
  Much better. And it gives you a clearer view of the plume of piss running off the downhill slope into the sea.
3. Re:There I fixed it by DerekLyons · 2011-03-17 11:56 · Score: 1
  
  I had no problem looking at it, so why would I want to alter it?
4. Re:There I fixed it by Retron · 2011-03-17 19:51 · Score: 1
  
  Hmm, the reason it looks relatively dull is because it was taken in early to mid-March, when the Sun would be only around 35 degrees in altitude (at noon). The same shot in mid-summer (when the sun reaches the high 50s in altitude over Ireland) would look much more vivid.
5. Re:There I fixed it by AliasMarlowe · 2011-03-17 20:17 · Score: 1
  
  The NASA image is incomparably better and definitely closer to reality.
  Your "enhanced" version is excessively Disney-ish and reminiscent of the color-coding used in atlases, with shades of green and brown which could exist in Ireland only in paintings. I lived 20+ years in Ireland; in March, the greens are dull and/or dark and even when it's sunny the mountains are never such a bright brown. It could make an illustration of some sort in a geography schoolbook, where it is implicit that the colors are false.
  
  --
  Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
6. Re:There I fixed it by xaxa · 2011-03-17 23:13 · Score: 1
  
  Hmm, the reason it looks relatively dull is because it was taken in early to mid-March, when the Sun would be only around 35 degrees in altitude (at noon). The same shot in mid-summer (when the sun reaches the high 50s in altitude over Ireland) would look much more vivid.
  I've not been to Ireland, but here's a picture taken at 13:08 on 24th February in London (29* solar noon altitude, here). The colours are reasonably accurate (I think that's taken with the camera's default setting). When you get a bright, clear day here it's surprising how vivid everything looks.
7. Re:There I fixed it by hcpxvi · 2011-03-18 00:32 · Score: 1
  
  the reason it looks relatively dull is because it was taken in early to mid-March
  It was actually taken on 11 October 2010, according to this page http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=49687 linked in a post somewhere above here.
Question having RTFA by MattGWU · 2011-03-17 10:50 · Score: 2

Does anybody know if Ireland owes its greenness to moderate temperatures and moist air? I'm no climatologist but does it perhaps come from the Atlantic Ocean, particularly the warm currents in the North Atlantic Drift, which gives the country a more temperate climate than most others at the same latitude?
T.I.A.

--
"These people look deep within my soul and assign me a number based on the order in which I joined" --Homer re:
1. Re:Question having RTFA by amicusNYCL · 2011-03-17 10:54 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  I think that Ireland owes its greenness to moderate temperatures and moist air. The Atlantic Ocean, particularly the warm currents in the North Atlantic Drift, gives the country a more temperate climate than most others at the same latitude. Also, Ireland owes its greenness to moderate temperatures and moist air. The Atlantic Ocean, particularly the warm currents in the North Atlantic Drift, gives the country a more temperate climate than most others at the same latitude.
  At least, according to NASA.
  
  --
  "Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
2. Re:Question having RTFA by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 10:57 · Score: 0
  
  I'm not entirely sure, but I did overhear someone in a Galway pub say that Ireland owes its greenness to moderate temperatures and moist air. Perhaps it does come from the Atlantic Ocean, particularly the warm currents in the North Atlantic Drift, which gives the country a more temperate climate than most others at the same latitude.
  I'm not one hundred percent sure on that, though.
  Happy St. Patrix.
3. Re:Question having RTFA by Pyrus.mg · 2011-03-17 12:17 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  The nice thing about cut and paste journalism is that it makes it easier to find the original source.
  The nice thing about cut and paste journalism is that it makes it easier to find the original source, according to Pyrus.mg
4. Re:Question having RTFA by stillnotelf · 2011-03-18 02:39 · Score: 1
  
  Does anybody know if Ireland owes its greenness to moderate temperatures and moist air?
  I think it's the leprechauns, actually.
Pfft, that's nothing by Lord_of_the_nerf · 2011-03-17 10:58 · Score: 3, Funny

Next up, let's see Beijing without smog.
1. Re:Pfft, that's nothing by Born2bwire · 2011-03-17 13:35 · Score: 2
  
  Don't hold your breath.
  Wait... that might be a good idea if you are in Beijing.
2. Re:Pfft, that's nothing by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 13:43 · Score: 0
  
  Thank you coal power!
That's almost twice as much as 26%! by peter.stocking · 2011-03-17 11:00 · Score: 0

"almost entirely cloud covered 50% of the time "
ugh...
1. Re:That's almost twice as much as 26%! by More_Cowbell · 2011-03-17 12:34 · Score: 1
  
  If you're not trying to make a joke, then you're mixing up numbers...
  
  --
  Experience teaches only the teachable. -AH
2. Re:That's almost twice as much as 26%! by ian_from_brisbane · 2011-03-17 12:49 · Score: 1
  
  Means... half of the time, it has 90%+ cloud cover. I honestly don't get why people can't grasp this concept.
3. Re:That's almost twice as much as 26%! by oldmac31310 · 2011-03-17 14:54 · Score: 1
  
  and it really does. I know from 25 years of experience!
  
  --
  http://www.acetonestudio.com
Nasa original article by xded · 2011-03-17 11:06 · Score: 5, Informative

Nasa original article, with better text, 3 Mpixel images and no ads business going on...
1. Re:Nasa original article by Yvanhoe · 2011-03-17 12:33 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  We need a +1 "replace the article by this comment"
  
  --
  The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
Leprechauns by beaker8000 · 2011-03-17 11:16 · Score: 1

Will this prove to be a significant step in finally tracking them down and taking their gold? Let's hope so, they've fooled us too long.
1. Re:Leprechauns by blair1q · 2011-03-17 11:43 · Score: 1
  
  Cloudless = no rain. No rain = no rainbows. No rainbows = well, you can do the math, there.
  I think they're wise to the shenanigans ye be tryin' te pull on Sin Paddy's daih.
2. Re:Leprechauns by L4t3r4lu5 · 2011-03-17 22:45 · Score: 1
  
  Scientists have also recently found the pot of gold, and it indeed was at the end of the rainbow.
  
  Well, by rainbow I mean "technicolour yawn" and by pot of gold I mean "bowl of used water."
  
  --
  Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
even from up here by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 11:30 · Score: 0

yep, looks drunk to me.
In other news... by Minwee · 2011-03-17 11:33 · Score: 5, Funny

NASA satellites are still trying to confirm the existence of Scotland.
1. Re:In other news... by xenobyte · 2011-03-18 01:36 · Score: 1
  
  They were however able to spot a lake with a non-existent monster in it. As the monster was assumed not to exist, the lake and the landmass that contained it was also removed from the data as it was assumed that the satellite accidentally had come to close to the edge of the world and the area traditionally found on old maps labeled "Here Be Monsters" was photographed in error.
  
  --
  "For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." -- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956) --
Try to snap a liquor-free shot by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 11:36 · Score: 0

That'll be the day
Ouch by kenj0418 · 2011-03-17 11:44 · Score: 2

And tomorrow shares of the company that makes Solarcaine will be up 25% after thousands of gingers are exposed to direct sunlight for the first time.
1. Re:Ouch by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 13:14 · Score: 0
  
  "And tomorrow shares of the company that makes Solarcaine will be up 25% after thousands of gingers are exposed to direct sunlight for the first time."
  Oh, but that's so untrue!
  They all get Sun baptism at Salou, Spain.
  It is said Salou doesn't need night lights. It can candle itself at night in August out of the gloom of Irish newcomers.
It's a Shadow by improfane · 2011-03-17 11:46 · Score: 1

It looks suspiciously like a shadow vessel.
Centauri Prime???

--
Slashdot needs Geekcode | Can anyone recommend any good SCIFI? My tastes: Foundation, Startide Rising, CITY, Ringworld,
1. Re:It's a Shadow by rJah · 2011-03-17 23:30 · Score: 0
  
  OK this is the plan... wait... I thought they left this galaxy
IMF by Dartz-IRL · 2011-03-17 12:00 · Score: 4, Funny

Jaysus sake, the IMF are taking even the feckin' clouds away now.

--
So there I was, scribbling down some notes off the PC screen by hand, when I reached for the keyboard and Ctrl-S'd.
1. Re:IMF by MMC+Monster · 2011-03-17 12:33 · Score: 2
  
  I figured it's just a rolling blackout to save money that, unfortunately, managed to knock out the Internet connection.
  Though I had no idea that NASA had a way to visualize the cloud...
  
  --
  Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
2. Re:IMF by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 13:40 · Score: 0
  
  Jaysus sake, the IMF are taking even the feckin' clouds away now.
  They won't give them back until we've all got water meters so they can charge us for that wet stuff that falls everyday.
Brian Fontana by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 12:11 · Score: 0

The country is almost 100% covered in clouds 50% of the time.
Link to the picture on NASA servers by Johann+Public · 2011-03-17 13:19 · Score: 2

http://3.ly/eringobragh
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Erin Go Bragh!
This is St. Patricks day by GodfatherofSoul · 2011-03-17 13:48 · Score: 1

I imagine God wants to keep a close eye on those hooligans today of *all* days.

--
I swear to God...I swear to God! That is NOT how you treat your human!
His theory is sound... by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 16:54 · Score: 0

Glasgow ....
World Yellow Pages for Higher studies by globodyne47 · 2011-03-17 18:46 · Score: 0

World Yellow Pages for Higher studies.Find University, Institute, Colleges World wide & talk business.Free Listing www.kezkostudy.com
No cloud for you, Ireland! by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-17 19:25 · Score: 0

This is bad news for Ireland's IT industry. No cloud computing.
Steam from distiller clouds Ireland for centuries. by PDX · 2011-03-17 19:53 · Score: 1

The St. Patrick's day celebrations have emptied all the stills in Ireland. Tomorrow is tank cleaning day. Clouds should reappear to cloak the distilleries when production resumes.
Better link by AliasMarlowe · 2011-03-17 20:03 · Score: 1

TFS just links to somebody's blog with the low resolution image, and repetition of much of NASA's text. It has no links to better resolution images.
Here's a link to the NASA Image of the Day page, with the same image and much the same text, but with links for larger versions of the image such as this.

--
Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. - Voltaire
rare? by Anonymous Coward · 2011-03-18 00:47 · Score: 0

Since when is 50% of the time rare?
Cloud panther by ericcj · 2011-03-18 01:37 · Score: 1

50% of the time, it's covered every time.
This picture is old, from October 11, 2010 by fortapocalypse · 2011-03-18 03:26 · Score: 1

This picture is low resolution and months old: "The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured the image on October 11, 2010..." (source) If I want a picture of f-n Ireland, I want it recent and zoomable, as big as the redheaded noogin on my 12 year old so I can oogle the Irish drinkin their Guinesses no earlier than yesterday. If it ain' Scottish, it's crap!
Cloudy Eire: Site of the World's Largest Telescope by careysub · 2011-03-18 04:17 · Score: 1

For 72 years - from 1845 to 1917. The Leviathan of Parsonstown was a telescope with a 72 inch (diameter) mirror built by William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse on his estate, Birr Castle, at Parsonstown. He was a gentleman astronomer who wished to conduct scientific research from his estate, which explains why such a large instrument was built at such an unsuitable site.
Astronomers have a saying, the three most important features of a telescope are aperture, aperture and aperture. Having the biggest telescope in the world gives you real advantages, despite the lousy weather, and Rosse (nobles being referred by their landed title) discovered the spiral structure of distant galaxies as well as naming the Crab Nebula.

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Starships were meant to fly, Hands up and touch the sky - Nicky Minaj