Credit & Copyright: Tim Thompson
Explanation:
Are those UFOs near that mountain?
No -- they are multilayered
lenticular
clouds.
Moist air forced to flow upward
around mountain tops can create
lenticular
clouds.
Water droplets condense from moist air cooled below the
dew point, and
clouds
are opaque groups of water droplets.
Waves in the air that would normally be seen
horizontally can then be seen vertically, by the
different levels where clouds form.
On some days the city of
Seattle,
Washington,
USA, is
treated to an usual sky show when lenticular clouds form near
Mt. Rainier,
a large mountain that looms just under 100 kilometers southeast of the
city.
This image
of a spectacular cluster of
lenticular
clouds was taken last December.
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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: