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A comment on A Eulogy for Dark Sky, a Data Visualization Masterpiece (2023). Parent comment

Re:A Eulogy for Dark Sky, a Data Visualization Masterpiece (... by SkyPuncher on Tuesday July 30, 2024 @03:19PM (#41113122)
Interestingly, COVID played a big roll in that. Commercial aircraft often report back weather conditions. During COVID, the reduction in commercial air traffic drastically reduced air borne information collection. It just hasn’t seemed to return to its prior quality after that.

I personally find, I’ve had to learn how to read a weather map to get a good understanding of forecasts

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Re:A Eulogy for Dark Sky, a Data Visualization Masterpiece (... by chatmasta on Tuesday July 30, 2024 @04:09PM (#41113610)
> Commercial aircraft often report back weather conditions

Is this done via some automated system, or do pilots report it manually?

I’d be curious to read more about this - do weather companies have partnerships with airlines where they pay them to carry sensors?

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Re:A Eulogy for Dark Sky, a Data Visualization Masterpiece (... by SkyPuncher on Wednesday July 31, 2024 @12:33AM (#41116426)
Pretty sure it's all automated. Aircraft already have all of the necessary sensors onboard, so it's just a matter of transmitting it back to the ground.

> do weather companies have partnerships with airlines where they pay them to carry sensors?

Nearly all of the US's forecasts come from the NOAA. Nearly every other "weather company" is simply reformatting this data.

I can't remember exactly what video I watched on the topic, but these two may be interesting:

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-wvE3iXT-A

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Xx0E8cs7U

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