Robby
12-30-2007, 08:01 AM
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0712/clouds_aguirre.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0712/clouds_aguirre_big.jpg)
Mammatus Clouds Over Mexico
Credit & Copyright: Raymundo Aguirre ( rayaguirre at hotmail.com)
Explanation: Normal cloud bottoms are flat (http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/wea00/wea00041.htm) because moist warm air that rises and cools will condense (http://snrs.unl.edu/amet351/noehrenberg/cloudformation.html) into water droplets at a very specific temperature, which usually corresponds to a very specific height. After water droplets form (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/GlobalClouds/) that air becomes an opaque cloud. Under some conditions, however, cloud (http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/cld/cldtyp/home.rxml) pockets can develop that contain large droplets of water or ice that fall into clear air as they evaporate. Such pockets (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket) may occur in turbulent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbulence) air near a thunderstorm (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070205.html), being seen near the top of an anvil cloud (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040218.html), for example. Resulting mammatus clouds can appear especially dramatic if sunlit from the side. These mammatus clouds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammatus_clouds) were photographed over Monclova (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monclova), Mexico (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/ the-world-factbook/geos/mx.html).
APOD presents: Astronomy Pictures of the Year for 2007 (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/apoys2007.html)
(Via NASA) (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap071230.html)
Mammatus Clouds Over Mexico
Credit & Copyright: Raymundo Aguirre ( rayaguirre at hotmail.com)
Explanation: Normal cloud bottoms are flat (http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/wea00/wea00041.htm) because moist warm air that rises and cools will condense (http://snrs.unl.edu/amet351/noehrenberg/cloudformation.html) into water droplets at a very specific temperature, which usually corresponds to a very specific height. After water droplets form (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/GlobalClouds/) that air becomes an opaque cloud. Under some conditions, however, cloud (http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/cld/cldtyp/home.rxml) pockets can develop that contain large droplets of water or ice that fall into clear air as they evaporate. Such pockets (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket) may occur in turbulent (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turbulence) air near a thunderstorm (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070205.html), being seen near the top of an anvil cloud (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040218.html), for example. Resulting mammatus clouds can appear especially dramatic if sunlit from the side. These mammatus clouds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammatus_clouds) were photographed over Monclova (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monclova), Mexico (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/ the-world-factbook/geos/mx.html).
APOD presents: Astronomy Pictures of the Year for 2007 (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/apoys2007.html)
(Via NASA) (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap071230.html)