Iridescent Cloud

This colorful cloud is called an iridescent cloud. When you see a cloud like this, you know there are tiny ice crystals or water droplets in the air. Larger ice crystals produce solar or lunar halos, but tiny ice crystals or water droplets cause light to be diffracted spread out creating this rainbow like effect in the clouds. We photographed these clouds when we were at the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Cambridge, Maryland.

 

4 Comments on “Iridescent Cloud

  1. Thanks! It is fun to see them! This one is not as intense as some others I have seen, but still fun to see and photograph! Sort of “Happy Clouds” and brings a smile to your face!

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