Monday, October 22, 2012

Now This Is Wild!

 
 
Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan
Image Credit:   Craig Lindsay

From Astronomy picture of the day:

Explanation: Normal cloud bottoms are flat.  This is because moist warm air that rises and cools will condense 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.

Wowzers.

If I looked up and saw this, I would probably mess my britches, since I really don't believe ET will be at all friendly.


1 comment:

texlahoma said...

Man, I've seen some, KIND of like that, but never that extreme.
It usually storms when you see them too.