The Nacreous (or Mother of Pearl) clouds are back!
For the second time this month, sky watchers around the Arctic Circle are reporting an outbreak of colorful polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). Nenne Åman photographed them floating over Arjeplog, Sweden, on Dec. 26th:
http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php ... &year=2015
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.
Here is another shot of beautiful Mother of Pearl clouds and auroras too from Sweden taken by Oliver Wright on December 26, 2015 from abisko, Sweden
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.
AND ANOTHER SAMPLING
These may look like auroras but they are polar stratospheric clouds commonly called Mother of Pearl clouds. This photo was taken by Mia Stålnacke on December 26, 2015 from Kiruna, Sweden. It appears like Sweden is the place to be for these photos.
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.
Taken by Mia Stålnacke on December 27, 2015 @ Kiruna, Sweden
Polar stratospheric clouds appearing again today. The very first test shot I did was horribly over exposed, the clouds is shining bright looking like a bird in flight, a crow flew by at the same second. I just had to share this.the other two show what it actually looks like.
See the other two pictures at: http://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_up ... umj3qo2t05
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.
New Year Special from Payson, Arizona: comet meets star
http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php ... &year=2016
On Jan. 1st, Comet Catalina had a close encounter with Arcturus in the early morning sky. Chris Schur of Payson AZ woke up before dawn to photograph the green comet beside the orange star:
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.
Remarkable ! What a sign for the New Year that it occurred today.
The picture of the comet and the star juxtaposed is extraordinary. I wonder how rare that is ?
These luminous shapes are caused by light shining through jewel-like crystals called "diamond dust.' Lähteenmäki notes that "You can see individual ice crystals glinting in my photos--especially the night shot."
Atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley has seen halos like these before. He finds the night halos most interesting: "Artificial light halos can have strange forms compared with those made by the sun or moon. The difference is because, unlike sun rays, those from nearby lights are not parallel. The equivalents of sundogs become long streaks. There are even super sundogs. The trumpet-shaped night halo Lähteenmäki photographed was made by hexagonal column crystals floating nearby with their long axes horizontal. It is a cousin of the familiar upper tangent arc--similar, but not the same. Look out at night for a whole new world of halos!"
http://www.spaceweather.com/archive.php ... &year=2016
Pekka Lähteenmäki photographed samples of both in Jalasjärvi, Finland:
Ice halo around the sun
Ice halo around automobile headlamps
Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner.
