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POLAR STRATOSPHERIC CLOUDS: A possible outbreak of polar stratospheric clouds (PMCs) is underway around the Arctic Circle. Unlike normal grey-white clouds, which hug Earth's surface at altitudes of only 5 to 10 km, PMCs float through the stratosphere (25 km) and they are fantastically colorful. Ivar Marthinusen sends this picture of the phenonenon from Skedsmokorset, Norway
Also known as "nacreous" or "mother of pearl" clouds, these icy structures 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. Once thought to be mere curiosities, some PMCs are now known to be associated with the destruction of ozone.
"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."
This looks like a wintry Nativity scene with a comet lighting the sky:
"I took a midnight hike to align Comet Lovejoy with the Huckleberry Mountain fire lookout in Glacier National Park, Montana and took this picture using a Nikon D750 camera," says Ashley. "The 66.7% illuminated Moon washed out the comet's tail, but the greenish snowball was still quite lovely - as were the occasional auroras in the opposite direction."
The comet's atmosphere, which looks like a snowball lofted above the fire lookout, has a verdant color because it is rich in diatomic carbon (C2), a gas which glows green in the near-vacuum of interplanetary space.
Rhemann used a 12-inch remotely controlled telescope in Namibia to photograph the comet on Dec. 23rd. Lovejoy's sinuous blue tail was so long (more than 6 degrees of arc) he couldn't fit it into a single field of view. "I had to combine six frames," he says. In fact, it is even too big for this web page. Click on the truncated tail, above, to see the whole thing.
WOW ! These are ALL beautiful pictures. The image of the Comet is the most amazing !
How can anyone doubt the existence of God when we see such dramatic and uplifting reminders of Heaven's presence in our lives ? [a monkey couldn't create that !]
