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Credit & Copyright: Craig Lindsay, Wikipedia
Explanation:
Why is this cloud so bubbly?
Normally, cloud bottoms are flat.
The flatness is caused by moist warm air
that rises and cools and so condenses into water droplets at a specific temperature,
which usually corresponds to a very specific height.
As water
droplets grow, an opaque cloud forms.
Under some conditions, however, cloud pockets can develop that contain large droplets
of water or ice that fall into clear air as they evaporate.
Such pockets may occur in
turbulent air near a
thunderstorm.
Resulting mammatus clouds can appear especially
dramatic
if sunlit from the side.
These
mammatus clouds were photographed over
Regina, Saskatchewan,
Canada
during the summer of 2012.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: clouds
Publications with words: clouds
See also: