SkyWatcher

I told you yesterday that I would bring you the paperwork on Operation Blue Skies.

Here it is.

On August 18, Google announced Operation Blue Skies, a 30-month program being conducted with the UK Government, aviation partners, universities and the Met Office.

Google describes it as “the world's first state-backed trial to avoid contrails at the scale of an entire oceanic airspace.”

The program will operate over the North Atlantic in Shanwick airspace. AI forecasting, satellite imagery and machine learning will be used to identify areas where warming contrails are expected to form, allowing selected aircraft to be deliberately routed around those regions.

And here's a statement from the announcement worth reading carefully:

“These warming contrails account for roughly one third of aviation's total climate impact.”

I'm working on the larger Operation Blue Skies production now. What started as a short report has turned into a much deeper investigation, and I'm not going to rush it just to get a video out today.

In the meantime, don't take my word for any of this.

Read the announcement for yourself.

Stay Aware, Be Prepared and Until Next Time Keep Looking Up.
blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/…

1 week ago | [YT] | 106

SkyWatcher

If you've watched Anthropocene or Planet of the Humans, then you already know there are bigger questions surrounding the relationship between humanity, technology, and the planet.

Now it's time to see Technocene.

We are entering something different.

Not simply an environmental crisis. Not simply a technological revolution.

Something bigger is happening at the intersection of technology, human civilization, and the Earth itself.

I made Technocene to explore that idea and to ask where this trajectory ultimately leads us.

If you haven't seen it yet, give it a watch.

Technocene. The age we are already living in.

Stay Aware, Be Prepared and Until Next Time Keep Looking Up.

https://youtu.be/rda4EQ9Znmg?is=NZBlD...

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 6

SkyWatcher

August 12, 2026 — Total Solar Eclipse
On Wednesday, August 12, a total solar eclipse will cross Greenland, Iceland, and Spain, with a partial eclipse visible across portions of Europe, Africa, Canada, and the northern United States.
At the same time, upper-atmospheric and ionospheric research / experiments are scheduled around the eclipse window.
HAARP — Alaska: The 2026 Polar Aeronomy & Radio Science Summer School runs August 4–13, involving upper-atmospheric and ionospheric research at the HAARP facility.
EISCAT — Europe: Its published August schedule shows research activity August 12–13, directly across the eclipse period.
Eclipses naturally produce measurable changes throughout the atmosphere and ionosphere, making them valuable opportunities for scientific research.
This time, I'll be watching the eclipse—and the experiments, research taking place around it.
Before. During. After.

Have you seen anything strange in the sky recently ? Let us know in the comments.

Stay Aware, Be Prepared and Until Next Time Keep Looking Up.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 142

SkyWatcher

Another distraction from the truth.
Hopefully my video will shed a little more light on what's happening.
One of the most powerful forms of engineering isn't the engineering of landscapes, weather, or technology, it's the engineering of perception. The way we understand the world is shaped not only by what happens, but by what we are encouraged to notice, what is repeated, what is ignored, and what is framed as important.

Modern societies are immersed in a constant flow of information. Governments, corporations, public relations firms, think tanks, advertisers, media organizations, and social media platforms all compete to influence attention. The objective isn't always to convince everyone of the same thing. Sometimes it's enough to direct attention toward one story while another remains in the background. Attention itself becomes a valuable resource.

When dramatic images appear, a person with a lighter, a burning vehicle, a shocking video, they naturally capture our focus. Human beings are wired to respond to immediate, visible events. Those moments can become the entire story in the public mind, even while broader questions remain unanswered or receive far less attention.

This doesn't mean every public narrative is false, nor does it mean every event is part of a coordinated campaign. It does mean that perception can become separated from the larger context. The first explanation offered is not always the complete explanation, and the most emotionally compelling image is not always the most important piece of evidence.

Critical thinking requires stepping back from the first impression. It asks us to look beyond isolated moments and examine longer timelines, larger geographic patterns, historical context, official records, environmental conditions, policy decisions, and documented data. Reality is often more complex than the single image or headline that dominates public attention.

Whether discussing war, environmental policy, economics, public health, or wildfire management, the same principle applies: our understanding should be built from the widest body of evidence available, not from the most memorable image. The challenge is to distinguish between what captures attention and what best explains the larger picture.

In the end, perception is powerful, but observation is more powerful still. The responsibility of a documentarian is not to tell people what to think, but to encourage them to look beyond the surface, ask difficult questions, seek primary sources whenever possible, and recognize that reality is often larger than the narrative presented in any single moment.
Stay Aware, Be Prepared and Until Next Time Keep Looking Up.
https://youtu.be/6WyFXUQMdkw?is=nfBJ8...

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3 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 69

SkyWatcher

Every morning I begin my day by checking the latest solar activity and space weather reports. There is no question that the Sun plays a dominant role in shaping Earth's space environment. Solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and geomagnetic storms are fundamental parts of that system.
What I question is not the importance of the Sun. What I question is whether the Sun is always presented as the only variable.
Over the past several decades, humanity has built an increasingly sophisticated technological infrastructure designed to study and in some cases intentionally interact with the upper atmosphere and near-Earth space. Facilities such as HAARP in Alaska, EISCAT in northern Europe, and SURA in Russia have published decades of research on ionospheric heating, wave-particle interactions, and radiation-belt physics. During major geomagnetic disturbances, these facilities often conduct coordinated experiments and collect valuable scientific measurements.
Recent peer-reviewed studies demonstrate that ionospheric heating experiments can generate ELF and VLF waves, influence energetic electrons within Earth's radiation belts, and produce measurable changes observed by satellites. These are no longer speculative capabilities; they are documented in the scientific literature.
Yet when major geomagnetic events occur, public discussion frequently focuses on solar activity alone.
My purpose in writing this paper is not to argue that human technology replaces the Sun as the dominant driver of space weather. Rather, it is to ask whether our increasingly technological environment deserves greater consideration when interpreting complex observations.
I refer to this expanding technological influence as the Technocene, an era in which humanity has become an active participant in Earth's atmospheric and near-space environment. Whether these technologies have only localized effects or broader implications remains an open scientific question. Ignoring their documented capabilities simply because the Sun is active risks overlooking an important part of the picture.
Science advances by examining every documented mechanism before settling on a conclusion. That is the purpose of this paper.

Beyond Solar Forcing: Considering the Role of Ionospheric Heating Experiments in Radiation Belt Electron Dynamics
Abstract.

The May 2024 geomagnetic superstorm has become a focal point in discussions surrounding Earth's changing magnetic environment and has frequently been cited as evidence supporting various natural explanations for large-scale geophysical changes. However, this event also occurred during a period in which ground-based ionospheric heating facilities were conducting active research. At the same time, peer-reviewed scientific literature continues to demonstrate that high-frequency ionospheric heating systems can generate ELF/VLF waves capable of interacting with energetic electrons within Earth's radiation belts.
This paper does not argue that ionospheric heating facilities caused the May 2024 superstorm or its associated electron precipitation. Instead, it argues that the existence of these demonstrated capabilities should be considered when interpreting observations of major geomagnetic events. Ignoring documented experimental capabilities risks oversimplifying a complex system and may lead to incomplete conclusions.

Introduction
For decades, discussions of geomagnetic storms have largely emphasized natural drivers such as solar flares, coronal mass ejections, and solar wind interactions with Earth's magnetosphere. These processes are well established and unquestionably important.
At the same time, another body of scientific research has developed largely in parallel. Ground-based ionospheric heating facilities, including HAARP in Alaska, SURA in Russia, and EISCAT in northern Europe, have investigated controlled interactions between high-frequency radio transmissions, the ionosphere, plasma waves, and Earth's radiation belts.
These two research paths are often treated independently. This paper suggests they should be considered together when evaluating major geomagnetic events.
Established Experimental Capabilities
Recent peer-reviewed studies demonstrate that ionospheric heating experiments are capable of producing measurable physical effects.
A 2025 Space Weather paper examining a coordinated experiment between the SURA ionospheric heater and the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite concluded that high-frequency transmissions generated ELF/VLF waves that propagated into Earth's radiation belts.
Satellite observations showed changes in energetic electron populations that closely matched first-principles simulations. The authors concluded that the results support a causative relationship between the heating experiment and the observed plasma waves and energetic electron dynamics.
These findings build upon decades of research showing that ionospheric heaters can generate ELF/VLF emissions capable of interacting with trapped radiation-belt electrons through wave-particle interactions.

The May 2024 Superstorm
During the May 2024 geomagnetic superstorm, researchers later documented unusually intense electron microbursts within Earth's radiation belts.
A 2026 Geophysical Research Letters paper described these observations in detail, attributing the detected electron precipitation to wave-particle interactions associated with the storm itself.
Importantly, the paper does not discuss whether any concurrent ionospheric heating experiments contributed to these observations.
During the same period, HAARP publicly announced an active transmission campaign between May 8 and May 10, 2024.
These facts establish three independent observations:
An extreme geomagnetic storm occurred.
HAARP was conducting scheduled transmissions.
Scientists later documented significant electron precipitation during the event.
By themselves, these observations do not establish causation. They do demonstrate that multiple processes were occurring simultaneously.
A Broader Research Question
The central question is not whether ionospheric heaters produce as much energy as the Sun.
Published research already shows that they do not need to.
Instead, these facilities are designed to interact with existing plasma environments by generating specific wave modes capable of coupling with energetic particles.
This is fundamentally a question of controlled interaction rather than raw power.
When an extreme geomagnetic storm has already energized Earth's magnetosphere, it becomes scientifically reasonable to ask whether artificial wave generation could measurably influence localized particle dynamics.
Whether the answer is yes or no remains an empirical question requiring further study.
Avoiding False Choices
Public discussions often become framed as a choice between two extremes:
Everything was caused by the Sun.
Everything was caused by human technology.
The published literature supports neither position.
Instead, the literature demonstrates that natural solar forcing unquestionably drives geomagnetic storms while also demonstrating that humans possess technologies capable of producing measurable interactions with portions of the near-Earth plasma environment.
These facts are not mutually exclusive.
Recognizing both allows for a more complete understanding of Earth's increasingly technological environment.
Conclusion
Scientific understanding advances by considering all documented mechanisms rather than excluding possibilities before they are examined.
The existence of peer-reviewed research demonstrating artificial electron precipitation, satellite observations confirming measurable effects from ionospheric heating experiments, and documented operation of these facilities during major geomagnetic events suggests that further investigation is warranted.
This paper does not claim that ionospheric heating facilities caused the May 2024 superstorm or its observed electron precipitation.
It argues that these demonstrated capabilities deserve consideration when interpreting complex space-weather events. Understanding the complete system requires examining both natural processes and documented technological interactions before drawing broad conclusions.

Edward Abbott.
Stay Aware, Be Prepared and Until Next Time Keep Looking Up.

sites.bc.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/196/2015/05/…

agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2…

agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2…
www.sciencedirect.com/topics/physics-and-astronomy…

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1 month ago | [YT] | 70

SkyWatcher

A quick update for everyone.
I'm beginning to build out my Patreon into more than just a membership page. It'll become a library of behind-the-scenes videos, field updates, explainers, early looks at upcoming documentaries, and a growing archive of Skywatcher content that won't be available on YouTube.
This morning, for example, I shared a quiet sunrise video from the pond while I was out filming in the wildfire smoke, along with an update on what I'm working on next.
Some posts will always be free, so if you'd like to follow along beyond YouTube, feel free to stop by.
Patreon:

www.patreon.com/posts/164110200?utm_campaign=posts…

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1 month ago | [YT] | 82

SkyWatcher

As Europe reports more than 20,000 heat-related deaths and another dangerous heat dome builds across parts of the United States, I wanted to reshare this video because it provides important background for tonight's discussion.

In this presentation, I examine the relationships between heat domes, solar radiation modification research, aerosols, particulate loading in the atmosphere, and the broader questions surrounding weather modification and geoengineering as I see them. Exploring the evidence, understanding the underlying science and publicly available research provides important context for the conversation.

If you haven't seen this one yet, now is a good time. Tonight's video builds directly on these ideas.
Stay Aware, Be Prepared and Until Next Time Keep Looking Up.

https://youtu.be/iTWQoCjab7E?is=LXh9Z...

1 month ago | [YT] | 25

SkyWatcher

I just shared a real conversation with Skywatchers over on Patreon.
It’s free to join, and I talk a bit about where things stand and what’s coming next.
If you want to check it out, I’ll leave the link here. See you over there.

www.patreon.com/posts/162620537?utm_campaign=posts…

1 month ago | [YT] | 36

SkyWatcher

If you enjoy my Skywatcher content and would like to support my other work, I'd love for you to check out my E. Abbott Photography page. I'm sharing wildlife, landscapes, and quiet moments from the natural world.
https://youtu.be/-5LxoXutIog?is=r2o2V...

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2 months ago | [YT] | 55

SkyWatcher

New report is now available.
Patreon is becoming the early-access hub for my work. No pay wall, this is free .
New reports will often appear there first before they're released publicly on YouTube and Facebook.
Tonight's report examines EISCAT operations, solar activity, geomagnetic disturbances, and some of the larger questions surrounding what we're seeing overhead.
Watch here:

www.patreon.com/posts/160565158?utm_campaign=posts…

2 months ago | [YT] | 55