APOD: Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan (2015 Oct 18)

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APOD Robot
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APOD: Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan (2015 Oct 18)

Post by APOD Robot » Sun Oct 18, 2015 4:07 am

Image Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan

Explanation: Why is this cloud so bubbly? Normally, cloud bottoms are flat. The flatness is caused by moist warm air that rises and cools and so condenses into water droplets at a specific temperature, which usually corresponds to a very specific height. As water droplets grow, an opaque cloud forms. Under some conditions, however, cloud pockets can develop that contain large droplets of water or ice that fall into clear air as they evaporate. Such pockets may occur in turbulent air near a thunderstorm. Resulting mammatus clouds can appear especially dramatic if sunlit from the side. These mammatus clouds were photographed over Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada during the summer of 2012.

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Boomer12k
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Re: APOD: Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan (2015 Oct 18)

Post by Boomer12k » Sun Oct 18, 2015 4:17 am

That is so awesome a phenomena...

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hoohaw

Re: APOD: Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan (2015 Oct 18)

Post by hoohaw » Sun Oct 18, 2015 8:53 am

Reminds me of the story about the two Americans who were traveling outside the US for the first time in their lives. As the train went west from Toronto they were arriving in a prairie city and asked the conductor "what city is this?" "Saskatoon, Saskatchewan" he replied. Then American said to the other, "Isn't it exciting! They don't even speak English!."

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Re: APOD: Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan (2015 Oct 18)

Post by ta152h0 » Sun Oct 18, 2015 7:16 pm

reminds me more of Jayne Mansfield in 1957, My dad didn't hide LIFE magazine fast enough and I saw it
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Re: APOD: Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan (2015 Oct 18)

Post by neufer » Sun Oct 18, 2015 10:37 pm

ta152h0 wrote:
reminds me more of Jayne Mansfield in 1957, My dad didn't hide LIFE magazine fast enough and I saw it
http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php? ... 11#p248911
Art Neuendorffer

FEALLEN

Re: APOD: Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan (2015 Oct 18)

Post by FEALLEN » Mon Oct 19, 2015 2:50 am

While this is an interesting phenomenon, and the picture is an excellent example of the mammatus cloud formation, I would think it would be more appropriately featured in a meteorology journal than in an astronomical photo journal such as APOD. I would like to see more pictures of astronomical phenomenon and fewer pictures about the weather in this format. I know, I know, Mars and Jupiter have weather too, and we see pics of their weather in APOD, but still...

hoohaw

Re: APOD: Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan (2015 Oct 18)

Post by hoohaw » Mon Oct 19, 2015 8:49 am

Earth Science Picture of the Day is a bigger sinner, showing astronomy much too often. But hey, Earth is an astronomical object too, and you don't need even binoculars to see it!

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Re: APOD: Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan (2015 Oct 18)

Post by geckzilla » Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:45 am

FEALLEN wrote:While this is an interesting phenomenon, and the picture is an excellent example of the mammatus cloud formation, I would think it would be more appropriately featured in a meteorology journal than in an astronomical photo journal such as APOD. I would like to see more pictures of astronomical phenomenon and fewer pictures about the weather in this format. I know, I know, Mars and Jupiter have weather too, and we see pics of their weather in APOD, but still...
Pretend you're the one running APOD here and that you want more viewership. APOD almost always features astronomy imagery, but a few interesting and only tenuously related images do wonders to bring more people into astronomy.
Just call me "geck" because "zilla" is like a last name.

Rusty Brown in Cda

Re: APOD: Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan (2015 Oct 18)

Post by Rusty Brown in Cda » Mon Oct 19, 2015 10:43 pm

But it's a phenomenon, not a phenomena.
There's only one.

Wanderer

Re: APOD: Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan (2015 Oct 18)

Post by Wanderer » Wed Oct 21, 2015 5:03 am

APOD Robot wrote:Image Mammatus Clouds Over Saskatchewan

Explanation: Why is this cloud so bubbly? Normally, cloud bottoms are flat. The flatness is caused by moist warm air that rises and cools and so condenses into water droplets at a specific temperature, which usually corresponds to a very specific height. As water droplets grow, an opaque cloud forms. Under some conditions, however, cloud pockets can develop that contain large droplets of water or ice that fall into clear air as they evaporate. Such pockets may occur in turbulent air near a thunderstorm. Resulting mammatus clouds can appear especially dramatic if sunlit from the side. These mammatus clouds were photographed over Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada during the summer of 2012.

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Just to clarify, are these caused due to evaporation as the post says or condensation? If it is indeed evaporation, please explain. I apologize if this isn't the place for such a question, curiosity got the best of me.