The sky is red
"Red sky at night, sailor's delight
Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning."
- Old adage
I can't tell you how many times I've heard the phrase above repeated on research ships. You'd think scientists would know better. Even though modern ships have complex and reliable meteorological equipment, people at sea still love to quote the ancient verse.
I learned on a ship sometime last year that the predictive power of the red sky has its origins in the tropical Atlantic. The predominant winds at tropical latitude (the so-called Trade Winds) are from the east. Therefore, if the sky was red at sunrise (in the east), sailors could expect whatever turbulent air mass caused the color change to come their way later in the day. On the other hand, if the sky was red at sunset (in the west), then the storm would be carried away from them.
There are now only 4 days remaining until my dissertation defense, and I can tell you that my sky is red. I know my defense is going to be a crazy storm, but I actually think it will be a good storm. I have 6 family members, 5 close friends, and 3 committee members coming from out of town to see my defense. One friend is even bringing her baby. That means 7 different travel schedules, 15 different personalities, not to mention all my labmates who will be around. Then, you know, there's the minor matter of not failing my defense. It's going to be an absolute whirlwind - a category 5 hurricane - but I can't wait. I can't wait to see each of my supportive friends and finish my Ph.D.
My sky is red. And it is beautiful.
Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning."
- Old adage
I can't tell you how many times I've heard the phrase above repeated on research ships. You'd think scientists would know better. Even though modern ships have complex and reliable meteorological equipment, people at sea still love to quote the ancient verse.
I learned on a ship sometime last year that the predictive power of the red sky has its origins in the tropical Atlantic. The predominant winds at tropical latitude (the so-called Trade Winds) are from the east. Therefore, if the sky was red at sunrise (in the east), sailors could expect whatever turbulent air mass caused the color change to come their way later in the day. On the other hand, if the sky was red at sunset (in the west), then the storm would be carried away from them.
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| Red sunrise |
My sky is red. And it is beautiful.
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