What does cloud iridescence mean?
Definitions for cloud iridescence
cloud iri·des·cence
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word cloud iridescence.
Wikipedia
Cloud iridescence
Cloud iridescence or irisation is a colorful optical phenomenon that occurs in a cloud and appears in the general proximity of the Sun or Moon. The colors resemble those seen in soap bubbles and oil on a water surface. It is a type of photometeor. This fairly common phenomenon is most often observed in altocumulus, cirrocumulus, lenticular, and cirrus clouds. They sometimes appear as bands parallel to the edge of the clouds. Iridescence is also seen in the much rarer polar stratospheric clouds, also called nacreous clouds.The colors are usually pastel, but can be very vivid or mingled together, sometimes similar to mother-of-pearl. When appearing near the Sun, the effect can be difficult to spot as it is drowned in the Sun's glare. This may be overcome by shielding the sunlight with one's hand or hiding it behind a tree or building. Other aids are dark glasses, or observing the sky reflected in a convex mirror or in a pool of water.
Wikidata
Cloud iridescence
Cloud iridescence is the occurrence of colors in a cloud similar to those seen in oil films on puddles, and is similar to irisation. It is a fairly uncommon phenomenon, most often observed in altocumulus, cirrocumulus and lenticular clouds, and very rarely in cirrus clouds. The colors are usually pastel, but can be very vivid. Iridescence is generally produced near the sun, with the sun's glare masking it, so it is more easily seen by hiding the sun behind a tree or building. Other aids are dark glasses, or observing the sky reflected in a convex mirror or in a pool of water. Iridescent clouds are a diffraction phenomenon caused by small water droplets or small ice crystals individually scattering light. Larger ice crystals produce halos. If parts of clouds have small droplets or crystals of similar size, their cumulative effect is seen as colors. The cloud must be optically thin, so that most rays encounter only a single droplet. Iridescence is therefore mostly seen at cloud edges or in semi-transparent clouds, and newly forming clouds produce the brightest and most colorful iridescence. When a thin cloud has droplets of similar size over a large extent, the iridescence takes on the structured form of a corona, a central bright disk around the sun or moon surrounded by one or more colored rings. In one instance a lunar corona was observed, with the iridescent cirrus cloud 11–13.6 km above the mean sea level at a temperature of −70 °C. The pure corona was 9.5 km above the mean sea level, at a temperature of −60 °C.
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of cloud iridescence in Chaldean Numerology is: 6
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of cloud iridescence in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5
Translations for cloud iridescence
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"cloud iridescence." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 5 May 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/cloud+iridescence>.
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