Iridescent Pileus Cloud
Iridescent clouds, known as "fire rainbows" or "rainbow clouds," occur when sunlight diffracts off water droplets in the atmosphere. And the recipe for these heavenly sights is actually pretty simple.
What happens is that the cumulus cloud, boiling upwards, pushes the air layers above it higher and higher. As the air gets pushed upwards, it expands and cools. And sometimes moisture in that air suddenly condenses into tiny droplets to form a cap cloud.
This "cap"— which scientists call a "pileus" — is the source of the brilliant spectacle.
The droplets in the cap cloud scatter sunlight to form the gorgeous colors. Though the ingredients for rainbow clouds seem simple, they're not spotted often, and are even less frequently photographed.
Article:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/07/130718-rainbow-cloud-weather-photography/
Photo via APOD
Image Credit & Copyright: Esther Havens
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110824.html
#naturalphenomena #rainbowcloud
I can never get pictures this good. We have those around here sometimes and they're visually striking, but nothing I've done has allowed my camera to capture that range of colors.
ReplyDeleteJohn Bump
ReplyDeleteI guarantee that had some Photoshop saturation help...
That's a relief. I mean, I know I'm an incompetent photographer, but this makes me feel like I should just throw my camera away.
ReplyDeleteIt is like a astride of 🌈 s
ReplyDelete