Undulatus Clouds over Las Campanas Observatory

Undulatus Clouds over Las Campanas Observatory

Image Credit &
Copyright:
Yuri Beletsky
(Carnegie
Las Campanas Observatory,
TWAN);
h/t:
Alice Allen

Explanation:
What’s happening with these clouds?

While it may seem that these
long and thin clouds
are pointing toward the top of a hill, and that maybe a
world-famous observatory is located there, only part of that is true.

In terms of clouds, the formation is a
chance superposition of impressively
periodic
undulating air currents in
Earth’s lower atmosphere.

Undulatus, a type of
Asperitas
cloud, form at the peaks where the air is cool enough to
cause the condensation of opaque water droplets.

The wide-angle nature of the panorama
creates the illusion that the clouds converge over the hill.

In terms of land, there really is a world-famous observatory at the top of that peak: the
Carnegie Science‘s
Las Campanas
Observatory in the
Atacama Desert of
Chile.

The two telescope
domes visible are the 6.5-meter
Magellan Telescopes.

The featured coincidental vista was a
surprise but was
captured by the phone of a quick-thinking photographer in late September.