This week’s installment of Thursday Nights at the Museum will turn its attention skyward with panelists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
NCAR scientist Christina McCluskey and NCAR chief pilot Scotty McClain will share insights on studying clouds, scientific instrumentation aboard specialized science aircraft, and being a pilot on field campaigns during “Catcher in the Sky: Tales of Modern Day Science, Research & Aviation.”
McCluskey will talk about findings from a recent field campaign that targeted clouds over the Southern Ocean, one of the windiest and cloudiest places on earth.
McClain will share insights into flying aircraft for science, and the role that the Earth Observing Laboratory Aviation Facility has in making research expeditions possible in the air.
McCluskey is a project scientist in the Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory at NCAR who studies the microscopic interactions between atmospheric particles and clouds. Her research is motivated by a need to better understand clouds, which are one of the most challenging and uncertain aspects of the earth’s climate system.
McClain, chief pilot for NCAR’s EOL Research Aviation Facility, has been at NCAR since 2008 after retiring from the U.S. Air Force. He has flown more than 30 atmospheric field projects around the world, enabling scientists from NCAR and many universities to gain a better understanding of the environment. Those flights have required operations in a variety of challenging conditions, including convection, icing, severe turbulence and low-altitude flight.
The free program is being presented by the Longmont Museum in collaboration with NCAR’s Explorer Series and the city of Longmont’s Sustainability Program. It starts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. It can be viewed on Facebook, Longmont Public Media and Comcast channels 8 and 880.
