Heading Back Going West

In meteorology, a cloud is a visible mass of liquid droplets or frozen crystals made of water or various chemicals suspended in the atmosphere above... more

by Tina M Wenger

Title

Heading Back Going West

Artist

Tina M Wenger

Medium

Photograph - Prints Of Photographs

Description

In meteorology, a cloud is a visible mass of liquid droplets or frozen crystals made of water or various chemicals suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of a planetary body. These suspended particles are also known as aerosols and are studied in the cloud physics branch of meteorology.
Terrestrial cloud formation is the result of air in Earth's atmosphere becoming saturated due to either or both of two processes; cooling of the air and adding water vapor. With sufficient saturation, precipitation will fall to the surface; an exception is virga, which evaporates before reaching the surface.
While a majority of clouds form in Earth's troposphere, there are occasions when they can be observed at much higher altitudes in the stratosphere and mesosphere. These three main atmospheric layers are collectively known as the homosphere. Above this lies the thermosphere and exosphere, which together make up the heterosphere that marks the transition to outer space. Clouds have been observed on other planets and moons within the Solar System, but, due to their different temperature characteristics, they are composed of other substances such as methane, ammonia, and sulfuric acid.
As established by Howard and his successors, clouds are commonly grouped into physical categories that can be up to five in number: cirriform, cumuliform, cumulonimbiform, stratocumuliform, and stratiform. These designations distinguish a cloud's physical structure and process of formation.
Cloud cover has been seen on most other planets in the solar system. Venus's thick clouds are composed of sulfur dioxide and appear to be entirely layered without embedded cumuliform types. On Mars, cirrus, cirrocumulus and stratocumulus composed of water-ice have been detected mostly near the poles.
Both Jupiter and Saturn have an outer cirriform cloud deck composed of ammonia, an intermediate deck of ammonium hydrosulfide, and an inner deck of cumulus water clouds. Embedded cumulonimbus are known to exist near the Great Red Spot on Jupiter. The same two category-types can be found covering Uranus, and Neptune, but are all composed of Methane. Saturn's moon Titan has cirrus clouds believed to be composed largely of methane. The Cassini–Huygens Saturn mission uncovered evidence of a fluid cycle on Titan, including lakes near the poles and fluvial channels on the surface of the moon.

While driving from Indiana to and from Ohio around Mid July this year, we were met and surrounded with such beautiful and amazing cloud formations along at least a twenty-mile stretch. I have decided to dedicate a gallery titled Indiana Cloudscape. I have not seen anything like it and I believe it is worth sharing. Hope you enjoy these images. July 14, 2013.

Uploaded

October 23rd, 2013