Stretch and Squash vs CloudLabs Predicting Weather

Stretch and Squash demonstrates how a passing gravitational wave would stretch and squash the distances between objects. Gravitational waves are ripples in the fabric of space-time. They are produced by violent cosmic events, such as the collision of black holes. These ripples then travel through the universe at the speed of light. If they pass through Earth they change the distance between objects ever so slightly. Gravitational wave detectors have been built to measure these waves using kilometer-sized laser interferometers. Stretch and Squash illustrates the different effects that gravitational waves in different polarisations would have on space. (Imagine the gravitational waves are passing straight through your computer screen!) The stretching and squashing is exaggerated visually in order to emphasise the effect.

In this simulation, a rocket will be launched into space; to achieve this, the weather conditions required for takeoff must be met, and the launch pad of the spacecraft must be ready. Your mission is to keep track of the weather for the next fifteen (15) days to know when the rocket will be able to fly and also to find the most suitable time to build the launch pad. The simulator will show you what weather is required for the activities to be performed, and you will forecast the weather through the elements of the probability of occurrence of simple events on a qualitative scale.