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Credit & Copyright: Chris Picking
(Starry Night Skies Photography)
Explanation:
What's happening above those mountains?
Several
clouds are stacked up into one striking
lenticular cloud.
Normally, air moves much
more horizontally
than it does vertically.
Sometimes, however, such as when wind comes off of a
mountain or a
hill, relatively
strong vertical oscillations take place as the air stabilizes.
The dry air at the
top
of an oscillation may be quite
stratified in moisture content, and hence forms
clouds
at each layer where the air saturates with moisture.
The result can be a
lenticular cloud with a
strongly layered appearance.
The
above picture was taken in 2002
looking southwest over the
Tarurua Range
mountains from
North Island,
New Zealand.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
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: lenticular clouds
Publications with words: lenticular clouds
See also: