06 Sep 2022 ~ An Iridescent Pileus Cloud Over China

An Iridescent Pileus Cloud over China

06 Sep 2022
An Iridescent Pileus Cloud over China
Image Credit & Copyright to photographer: Jiaqi Sun （孙嘉琪）


Yes, but how many dark clouds have a multicolored lining?
Pictured, behind this darker cloud, is a pileus iridescent cloud,
a group of water droplets that have a uniformly similar size
and so together diffract different colors of sunlight by different amounts.

The featured image was taken last month in Pu'er, Yunnan Province, China.

Also captured were unusual cloud ripples above the pileus cloud.

The formation of a rare pileus cloud capping a common cumulus cloud
is an indication that the lower cloud is expanding upward
and might well develop into a storm.


https://science.nasa.gov/iridescent...YZ1IZDFBfAB7DnW7SwO7x-ibeOVJiUMyo8edtvxYKFPpE