Stunning photo shows rarest clouds in the world glow like cobwebs over US – and they ‘formed in an unlikely way’
A STUNNING picture has shown rare clouds hovering in the US sky this week as experts weigh in on what may have caused them to appear so late in the year.
The clouds were spotted last week, hovering over the San Francisco Bay Area, wowing residents and photographers who were quick to snap photos and share them on social media.
“Strange bright cloud over Lake Merritt during the tail end of astronomical twilight this morning,” wrote photographer Rain Hayes when sharing the photo on Twitter.
She also shared the photos on her website.
Scientists quickly jumped in on the discussion, sharing their excitement and providing some explanation for the stunning sight.
Other users shared different angles and even a time-lapse video, which shows the slow movement of the clouds.
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"Great shot of what appears to be a noctilucent cloud over the SF Bay Area this morning!" wrote climate scientist Daniel Swain in a tweet.
“Such clouds are very rare at this latitude and also in winter, and are the Earth's highest and driest clouds, forming in the mesosphere about 50 miles.”
Swain also took a minute to talk about the photo and how unique it is.
“It's a pretty unique shot, given the very rare confluence of location, seasonal timing, and other unique conditions (let alone visible from Oakland). Congrats!” he wrote.
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Noctilucent clouds are formed when water droplets crystallize around dust particles.
This process forms clouds that are made out of ice and that reflect light from the sun, resulting in stunning and rare sights.
While standard clouds are located 10 miles above Earth, noctilucent ones can be located up to 50 miles up.
These clouds are traditionally formed within the months of May through August in the northern hemisphere and November through February in the southern hemisphere.
SFGate spoke with Matt Mehle, a weather forecaster, who theorizes that the appearance of the clouds could have been prompted by the launch of the Falcon 9 SpaceX launch.
"That would make sense as to why we could see them around here because typically when they occur naturally it's in the Seattle area and Oregon, and not Northern California," he said.
Other researchers theorize that noctilucent clouds may be occurring more frequently due to lower temperatures and higher levels of methane in the atmosphere.