The clouds, also known as nacreous clouds, appear exclusively in severely cold temperatures and they are caused by microscopic ice crystals scattering sunlight.
Image credit: Ramunė Šapailaitė
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The clouds, also known as nacreous clouds, appear exclusively in severely cold temperatures and they are caused by microscopic ice crystals scattering sunlight.
Image credit: Ramunė Šapailaitė
Amazing breathtaking rainbow-coloured clouds were observed in the Arctic. The rare rainbow was the right thing during the holiday season.
Spaceweather.com reported that the colourful clouds appeared over Sweden on December 17 as a cold wave just swept through the Arctic stratosphere. The rare polar stratospheric clouds were visible for at least three days between December 18 and December 20.
As quoted in the report, Chad Blakley, owner of the aurora tour guide service Lights over Lapland in Abisko, Sweden, said: "It's that magical time of year again. We just witnessed a spectacular display of polar stratospheric clouds."
Live Science mentioned in its report that observers shared pictures from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Alaska, and even as far south as Scotland.
The clouds, also known as nacreous clouds, appear exclusively in severely cold temperatures and they are caused by microscopic ice crystals scattering sunlight, resulting in miniature rainbows in the sky.
The report mentioned that the crystals are hung in space at incredibly high altitudes, between 9.3 and 15.5 miles above the Earth's surface. Live Science reported that higher than clouds usually form, but at extremely cold temperatures, water vapour can start to coalesce, creating crystals.
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