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Where is it?The Crozet Islands in the Southern Ocean . [ -46.41255591 , 51.99872352 ] .
What ’s in the photo?A pair of wave clouds organise by island mountain .
A pair of perfectly aligned “wave clouds” were spotted above the Crozet Islands last year in the Southern Ocean.
Who took the photo?An nameless cosmonaut on board the International Space Station .
When was it taken?Jan . 8 , 2023 .
This 2023 cosmonaut picture fascinate the striking dish of a pair of utterly aligned , arrow - form moving ridge cloud ripple above the Crozet Islands — an archipelago of uninhabited French islands in the Southern Ocean , turn up roughly midway between South Africa and Antarctica .
Wave clouds can also form above land but are more common over large bodies of water.
moving ridge cloud are repeating band ofcloudand non - cloud that await like wispy streaksfloating in the skywhen take in from above or below . These band are created when stable line moves over bring up land . The topography drive the line upward beforegravitypulls it back down , causing the air to oscillate up and down , allot toNASA ’s Earth Observatory .
When the strain rise , it cools down , and water vapor condenses into cloud . But when gravity pulls the air downwards , it is compressed by increased atmospherical press , which heats it up via a cognitive operation called adiabatic heating and forces anyclouds in the airto evaporate , consort to theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration .
moving ridge swarm are also known as gravity waves . This should not be discombobulate with " gravitational waves , " which are ripples in distance - time created by extreme cosmic entities such as blackened kettle of fish and colliding galaxies .
Related:12 awesome images of Earth from space
The wave swarm on the left of the range of a function is organise by zephyr passing over Mount Marion - Dufresne , a 3,576 - foot - marvelous ( 1,090 cadence ) peak on East Island ; the pattern on the right is have by Mascarin Peak , a spate on Possession Island that stand 3,064 feet ( 933 m ) marvellous . The two islands are separated by around 10 stat mi ( 16 kilometers ) of water system .
Wave clouds are rare but can be chance more often over large bodies of piddle because the air there is more static , which ready it more prostrate to oscillating if it is disturbed , harmonize toNASA .
interchangeable wave cloud were spotted over the Crozet Islands in2012and2014but did not look as perfectly aligned as the pair in this photo .
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The Crozet Islands are uninhabited apart from a small research station on Possession Island , from where scientists study the islands ' more than 5 millionpenguinsand other marine wildlife , according toNASA ’s Earth Observatory .
In the past , these islands have also temporarily been home to several groups of marooned sailors who survived being shipwrecked by the jaggy rock and roll along the island ' steep drop-off , according toEncyclopedia Britannica . In 1876 , half of the 88 passengers and work party onboard the shipwrecked vas Strathmore survived on Possession Island for seven month before being rescued , according toThe New Zealand Herald .
