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Credit & Copyright: P-M Hedén (Clear Skies,
TWAN)
Explanation:
Vivid and lustrous,
wafting iridescent waves of color filled this mountain
and skyscape near Tanndalen, Sweden on January 3.
Known as nacreous
clouds or mother-of-pearl clouds, they are rare.
This northern winter season they have been making
unforgettable appearances at high latitudes, though.
A type of
polar stratospheric cloud, they form
when unusually cold temperatures in the usually cloudless
lower stratosphere
form ice crystals.
Still sunlit at altitudes of around 15 to 25 kilometers the clouds can
diffract sunlight after sunset and before the dawn.
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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: clouds
Publications with words: clouds
See also:
- APOD: 2024 November 19 Á Undulatus Clouds over Las Campanas Observatory
- APOD: 2024 July 7 Á Iridescent Clouds over Sweden
- APOD: 2023 August 20 Á A Roll Cloud Over Wisconsin
- APOD: 2023 February 12 Á Mammatus Clouds over Nebraska
- Nacreous Clouds over Lapland
- A Retreating Thunderstorm at Sunset
- A Fire Rainbow over West Virginia