Fire cloud over California, from space
A pyrocumulus cloud – sometimes called a fire cloud – forms when intense heat from wildfires causes air to rise. Californians have been seeing these towering clouds this July and August.
Perseids are peaking this weekend
The composite image above – from John Ashley at Glacier National Park in Montana, in 2016 – perfectly captures the feeling of standing outside as dawn is approaching, after a peak night of Perseid meteor-watching. As viewed from anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, the Perseids’ radiant point is highest at dawn, and so the meteors rain down from overhead.
See it! Crepuscular rays
Those beams of light shooting out from the horizon or down from the clouds are called crepuscular rays, or sunrays. Beautiful, mysterious and very noticeable. Photo by Nicholas Holshouser.
Photo via Lewistown Storm Watcher.
Marble View, Kaibab National Forest, Arizona. Image via Gaelyn Olmsted.
Western Colorado. Photo via Allen Lefever.
James Younger frequently camps at Vancouver Island and catches many wonderful sky sights from its shores. He captured these crepuscular rays – or moon rays – in August 2017.
Prince Rupert, British Columbia, via footeprints unlimited.
Image via Robin Reilly.
Sunrays over the Gulf of Mexico. Photo via Rick Trommater.
Image via Allison Lewis.
Image via Steve Case in the U.K.
Lake Garda in Italy, by Luca Milevoj. Thank you, Luca.
Photo via Howard Harner.
