My word for 2018:
My Choice

Friday, January 13, 2012

Day 13 - Mother-Of-Pearl Clouds


On this rare day, 
when I had dragged myself out of bed 
long before dawn,
I glanced up into the sky
and was left awestruck. 



Shimmering, iridescent patches.
Oil spills? 
Rainbow splashes? 
A color carnival?
Fireworks?


I have seen pictures of this phenomenon,
but never seen it myself.


Mother-of-pearl clouds.
A privilege to observe such a rare occurrence. 
What a way to start the day!


A small stone for:


(Nacreous clouds also known as Mother-Of-Pearl clouds, are rare cloud formations which are composed of ice crystals and form when temperatures are well below the ice frost point which is typically below -83C. The only place where these tempatures exist is in the stratosphere, some 20km (6 miles) above the surface. They are so bright after sunset and before dawn because at those heights they are still sunlit.)



8 comments:

Karen said...

WOW WOW WOW! Lucky you!!!Spectacular! Nacreous clouds. Thanks for sharing!

J Cosmo Newbery said...

Could be the exhaust trail of a UFO...nah, probably not.

Beautiful, whatever it is.

Anonymous said...

wow - what a great sight!

Unknown said...

Beautiful!
Best from another cloud-watcher!

pauline said...

Inger, this is incredible!! Oil slicks in the sky!! Unbelievable. I've never seen this but it had to be amazing in person. Thanks for sharing... you got some great photos there.
happy CED! xoxo

Jen@small matters said...

Wow! That's all I can say. So beautiful!

Gemma Wiseman said...

Changing cloud shapes, patterns and colours are so inspiring!

Carola said...

Awesome clouds, great shots!