From spaceweather.com An apparition of polar stratospheric clouds is underway around the Arctic Circle. “It is almost as good as the aurora borealis,” says Göran Strand, who took this picture last night from Östersund, Sweden:
Eric Schandall of Oslo, Norway, adds this report: “We have seen them for three evenings over Oslo, with the ones on Jan. 13th being the most dramatic and beautiful so far.”
Also known as “nacreous” or “mother of pearl” clouds, these icy clouds form in the lower stratosphere when temperatures drop to around minus 85ºC. Sunlight shining through tiny ice particles ~10µm across produce the characteristic bright iridescent colors by diffraction and interference.
“Nacreous clouds far outshine and have much more vivid colours than ordinary iridescent clouds, which are very much poor relations and seen frequently all over the world,” writes atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley. “Once seen they are never forgotten.”
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so, what does it mean ? very cold but dense enough to keep the tiny ice crystals up … cold wave on it’s way ? … I have no idea, just asking
cloud rainbows…………………
Having tried to capture the brilliant colors of the sky in past, I’d guess that the photo is just a hint at the true beauty seen over Oslo.
Mr. Schandall, thanks so much for the wonderful photo.
That qualifies as an awesome.
It would good to Google for “nacreous clouds” to see if the same were seen in the past…perhaps during the Maunder Minimum.
Global cooling destroying the ozone layer above the Arctic in a very pretty way?
I think there’s a misprint here… -85C= -121 degrees Fahrenheit
Never heard of anyplace measuring that much chill.
Awesome atmospheric event regardless!
“Nacreous clouds far outshine and have much more vivid colours than ordinary iridescent clouds, which are very much poor relations and seen frequently all over the world,” writes atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley. “Once seen they are never forgotten.”
‘ordinary’ iridescent clouds !? Come on Les, think of a better word.
A strange choice of words. There is nothing “ordinary” about them. The colors are amazing. The motions fantastic. The effect mesmerizing. And best of all — one doesn’t have to leave home to see them.
Still, I’d like also to see the nacreous clouds.
Mike Hebb:
Adiabetic lapse – the air gets colder the higher in the atmosphere you go, at stratospheric heights, in the middle of the winter in the arctic, that’s some mighty mean cold.
It’s been pretty cold in the lower Northern stratosphere recently:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/stratosphere/temperature/70mb9065.gif
These are common or can be in the far north and sub arctic, less common in southern Canada but we do see them, mostly in the winter.
Nacreous? Is that like Bodacious?
Gorgeous! Thanks for sharing.
With respect to Mike Hebb’s comment.
If the US changed its units from farenheit, used only in US now, to Celcius, used by the rest of the world, then he would not have to do the conversion. The Farenheit scale is is not based on anything meaningful and is related to nothing of any use any more. Well past the time the US joined the rest of the world.
As for -85 C, The coldest recorded surface temperture was -89.2C at Vostok station which sits near the top of the east Antarctic ice sheet at about 3500m above sea level. As atmosphere cools with altitude such temperatures are not that extreme in polar regions.
Mike Hebb says:
January 15, 2012 at 9:16 am
I think there’s a misprint here… -85C= -121 degrees Fahrenheit
Never heard of anyplace measuring that much chill.
Awesome atmospheric event regardless!
————————————————————————————————–
At the height of those clouds that is a near normal temp with ground temps at -45 to -55 degree F.
The total amount of cooling over the arctic is becoming evident now. As some form of equilibrium becomes the norm that cold will push outward from the poles. Our warmer than average winters here in the states of the last few years are coming to an end. Solar Maximum reached… cooling of the arctic is topping out and now a semblance of balance is returning.
We may have one more above average year but then all bets are off. If we follow historical trends we will cool rapidly. The return of super cold atmosphere above the arctic is a tell tale sign that we are in fact cooling rapidly..
the pictures are awesome.. by the way…
The Arctic and Antarctic seem to do opposite things from each other somehow. So, if it cools in the Arctic, we’ll soon be hearing about the tragic fate of the penguins as the Antarctic ice sheets melt. Only in whispers will it be mentioned that the pensguins would be thriving in that case…
Saw loads of ’em in North UK, about 1996 I think.
This is incredible! I’d love to see something like this someday – God-made beauty.
We were having an awesome winter in Calgary until last night. Arctic blast, ….. good times, good times.
Loved the photos. Endless source of fascination our planet, …..
In general I agree that the U.S. should move toward the SI system, I certainly prefer it; but, we actually are moving this direction in many respects, perhaps more than you realize. Remember that there is a huge (huge in that it makes even the bailout of the banks look small in comparison) investment in installed plant and equipment, and appliances, that use U.S. Customary units. In other words, even if we adopted the SI system in totality tomorrow, we are likely to be faced with a dual system for another century. Learn to convert–it keeps the nervous system in shape.
Fahrenheit is based on ITS-90 just like all other scales.
I’ve tried on occasion to simply get the car pulled over, get the camera out, and take a great shot, only to have the glory of the sky fade in those few moments. Great shots are sometimes just the luck of being in the right place at the right time, with camera already in hand, aren’t they?
Does the spectroscopy indicate any CO2 crystals in those clouds?
Siliggy says:
January 15, 2012 at 9:09 am
Global cooling destroying the ozone layer above the Arctic in a very pretty way?
Indeed, it is worse than we thought.
The cloud with a dangerous secret
Atmospheric beauty is becoming more common – and that is bad news for the environment
Au contraire!
The Fahrenheit (note the correct spelling) scale divides the range between freezing pure water and boiling pure water at sea level into 180 steps. 0°F is the freezing point of salt-saturated water, using the same steps. As the degrees are smaller, it is thus more precise than Celsius, (Note the correct spelling).