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Birthday · November 26, 2013

Cap Cloud over the Sierra Nevadas

November 26, 2013

Somewhere between the Big Bang and this birthday, the universe learned how to make kindness, curiosity, humor, memory, and hope.

Cap Cloud over the Sierra Nevadas

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APOD published November 26, 2013. Credit: Guido Monta��s. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.

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Cap Cloud over the Sierra Nevadas

Original APOD · November 26, 2013

One might say this was a bell weather day for the Sierra Nevada mountains. In January, just as the Sun was setting above the district of Albayz�n in Grenada, Spain, a huge cloud appeared as a bell capping the Veleta peak. Such a Cap cloud is formed by air forced upwards by a mountain peak, with the air then cooling, saturating with moisture, and finally having its molecular water condense into cloud droplets. Such a bell-shaped cloud structure is unusual as air typically moves horizontally, making most clouds nearly flat across at the bottom. Vertical waves can also give additional lenticular cloud layers, as also seen above. Given the fleeting extent of the great cloud coupled with momentarily excellent sunset coloring, one might considered this also a bellwether day for an accomplished photographer. Print or Peruse: Free APOD 2014 Calendar in PDF format

Image credit: Guido Monta��s

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