December 1, 2003
You were born on a tiny world orbiting an ordinary star in an unremarkable galaxy — and yet, the fact that you exist at all is the most...
A Lenticular Cloud Over Hawai'i
Birthday · December 1, 2003
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APOD published December 1, 2003. Credit: Peter Michaud (Gemini Obs.). A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Can a cloud do that? Actually, pictured above are several clouds all stacked up into one striking lenticular cloud. Normally, air moves much more horizontally than it does vertically. Sometimes, however, such as when wind comes off of a mountain or a hill, relatively strong vertical oscillations take place as the air stabilizes. The dry air at the top of an oscillation may be quite stratified in moisture content, and hence forms clouds at each layer where the air saturates with moisture. The result can be a lenticular cloud with a strongly layered appearance. The above picture was taken last week near Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA.
Image credit: Peter Michaud (Gemini Obs.)