Friday, January 10, 2020

APOD - Nacreous Clouds over Sweden

Astronomy Picture of the Day

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2020 January 10
See Explanation.  Clicking on the picture will download  the highest resolution version available.

Nacreous Clouds over Sweden
Image 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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