by APOD Robot » Sun Aug 19, 2018 4:05 am
Asperitas Clouds Over New Zealand
Explanation: What kind of clouds are these? Although their cause is presently unknown, such unusual atmospheric structures, as menacing as they might seem, do not appear to be harbingers of
meteorological doom. Formally recognized as a distinct
cloud type only last year,
Asperitas clouds can be stunning in appearance, unusual in occurrence, and are relatively unstudied. Whereas most low cloud decks are
flat bottomed,
asperitas clouds appear to have significant vertical structure underneath. Speculation therefore holds that
asperitas clouds might be related to
lenticular clouds that form near mountains, or
mammatus clouds associated with thunderstorms, or perhaps a
foehn wind -- a type of dry downward wind that flows off mountains.
Such a wind called the
Canterbury arch streams toward the east coast of New Zealand's
South Island. The
featured image, taken above
Hanmer Springs in
Canterbury,
New Zealand, in 2005, shows great detail partly because sunlight illuminates the undulating
clouds from the side.
[url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap180819.html] [img]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_180819.jpg[/img] [size=150]Asperitas Clouds Over New Zealand[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] What kind of clouds are these? Although their cause is presently unknown, such unusual atmospheric structures, as menacing as they might seem, do not appear to be harbingers of [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap101130.html]meteorological doom[/url]. Formally recognized as a distinct [url=https://scied.ucar.edu/webweather/clouds/cloud-types]cloud type[/url] only last year, [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperitas_(cloud)]Asperitas[/url] clouds can be stunning in appearance, unusual in occurrence, and are relatively unstudied. Whereas most low cloud decks are [url=http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/fgz/science/flatcloud.php?wfo=fgz]flat bottomed[/url], [url=http://cloudappreciationsociety.org/asperatus-update/comment-page-2/]asperitas clouds[/url] appear to have significant vertical structure underneath. Speculation therefore holds that [url=http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2015/06/20/asperatus-cloud-atlas/28994525/]asperitas clouds[/url] might be related to [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090121.html]lenticular clouds[/url] that form near mountains, or [url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121023.html]mammatus clouds[/url] associated with thunderstorms, or perhaps a [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foehn_wind]foehn wind[/url] -- a type of dry downward wind that flows off mountains. [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nor%27west_arch]Such a wind[/url] called the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterbury_arch]Canterbury arch[/url] streams toward the east coast of New Zealand's [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Island,_New_Zealand]South Island[/url]. The [url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/wittap/4406137868/in/set-72157623581503907]featured image[/url], taken above [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn7ck-N53k0]Hanmer Springs[/url] in [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canterbury_Region]Canterbury[/url], [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand]New Zealand[/url], in 2005, shows great detail partly because sunlight illuminates the undulating [url=https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features/nasa-knows/what-are-clouds-58.html]clouds[/url] from the side.
[table][tr][td=left][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=180818][b]<< Previous APOD[/b][/url][/td] [td=center][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/view_retro.php?date=0819][b]This Day in APOD[/b][/url][/td] [td=right][url=http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=180820][b]Next APOD >>[/b][/url][/td][/tr][/table]