Fractus? Stratocumulus?

I haven't been able to find the exact type of cloud that we have here, but it was fun to look at! I saw these yesterday morning (February 24, 2015).

You can see a shadow of a contrail in the first picture.

Halo

A halo that I saw coming home from work on Monday, February 23, 2015.  Halos appear best through high-level stratus clouds.  These are likely thinner altostratus clouds.

Assembly: part 2

I realized the other day that if I plan to use this equipment as a weather station, I should treat the wood. So, in these pictures, you can see the wood is darker.

I have also mounted the RPi onto the board. I drilled some shallow holes for the feet of the case to fit into. When I got it right, I put some 3M strips into the back of the RPi, filled those shallow holes with super flyer, and then put it together. So, the feet are super glued on, and the back is attached work strong adhesive.

Mostly, the 3M steps are there for a little extra support during flight. But after the flight, if there's any question to using them, I can remove them, and the feet will still be secured. That should be enough for a stationary weather station.

I also tested the temperature sensor in sunlight. The sensor reacted instantly to sunlight. So, I do have to create a shade using the Styrofoam. The trick is to mount the shade and the camera right so that the shade doesn't obstruct the camera's view.

Soldering job and Mounting the Instruments

The first picture here shows the soldering job I did on the BMP180 pressure sensor. It's not bad at all. It ended up not too straight (the pins make more of a 70° angle to the sensor), but at least it's on. It does work, too.

The next two pictures are images of the first mounting job. The breadboard is now attached. The RPi will go on the other side. There is space at the bottom for a power supply, and room at the top to attach the hooking mechanism for the balloon.

I also have some Styrofoam that I am going to use to make a shell for the bottom half. This will serve primarily as something to absorb the shock of impact when it lands again.

Stratocumulus

Stratocumulus layer taken on Dec 11, 2014. These could be considered altocumulus clouds, but they really are closer to stratocumulus.

Contrail shadows

The dark stripes in this shot are shadows from contrails above the main layer of clouds.

Contrails

This was a really cool shot I got of lots of contrails all at once.

Cloud Iridescence

A picture of some iridescence I saw on January 22, 2015. Almost came out as a sun dog.