NEW DELHI: In a never-before-seen picture, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (
Nasa
) shared captivating pictures of clouds on a social media platform, showcasing the breathtaking view of
Cavum clouds
as seen from space.
The post, titled "What are those shapes in the clouds?" explained about the peculiar formations of clouds.
Additionally, it elaborated, "Scientists have long speculated about Cavum clouds, also called
hole-punch clouds
or fallstreak holes, but it’s now well understood that these odd
cloud formations
are caused by airplanes!"
Explaining further about the
natural phenomenon
the post added,"Cavum clouds form when planes fly through banks of altocumulus clouds, mid-level clouds that have supercooled (below the freezing point of water but still liquid) water droplets.
As air moves around the plane, a process called adiabatic expansion can make the droplets freeze into ice crystals! The ice crystals eventually grow heavy and fall out of the sky, leaving a hole in the cloud layer."
"In this image from NASA’s Terra satellite, the falling ice crystals are visible in the center of the holes as wispy trails of precipitation that never reach the ground – features called virga."
The beautiful image was taken by Nasa over the Gulf of Mexico, just off the west coast of Florida, on January 30, 2024.
Writing more about the image the post added, "Image description: Satellite image of Cavum clouds over the Gulf of Mexico off of Florida’s west coast on January 30, 2024. Wisps of white clouds on the left side of the image. There are holes in the clouds in some areas, exposing the blue and turquoise ocean water underneath. In the center of the holes are wisps of white that are the virga. On the right side of the image, the green land of southern Florida is visible on the right of the image and the Florida Keys curve toward the bottom of the image."
English (US) ·