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" Spectacular " rainbow - colored clouds have been shimmer in the skies over and around theArcticfor more than three day thanks to an unusual frigid crack in the upper atmosphere . And even more of these technicolor treat could come out during the next few month , expert say .
The colorful clouds , known aspolar stratospheric clouds(PSCs ) , were spottedfloating high-pitched in the skyabove parts of Norway , Sweden , Finland and Alaska , and even as far south as Scotland . They begin to issue on Dec. 18 and continued to appear clearly until Dec. 20 , accord toSpaceweather.com . Some smaller , less clear-cut clouds were also spotted on Dec. 21 , but in cosmopolitan they seem to be disappearing .
Iridescent, rainbow-colored clouds, known as polar stratospheric clouds, have been spotted across the Arctic for days on end.
PhotographerRamunė Šapailaitėcaptured astonishing photos of the rare phenomenon above Gran in southerly Norway . Her photo revealed therainbowhues of PSCs and their iridescent shimmer that has inspired the nickname nacreous cloud , due to their law of similarity with nacre — an iridescent fabric , also known as mother - of - ivory , that is found in the shield of some mollusks .
" The colours are outstanding , " Šapailaitė enjoin Spaceweather.com . " The clouds were seeable in the sky all day , but the colors really exploded just before sundown . "
The PSCs were do by a prolonged full stop of unusually frigid temperature in the sky , accord to Spaceweather.com .
The vibrant clouds became most clearly visible shortly before sunset.
Related:10 bizarre phenomena that lit up the sky ( and their scientific explanations )
PSCs are made from tiny ice crystals thatrefract , or spread , sunlight . This separates the light into single wavelength , or color , and creates the rainbow - like effect we see from the ground .
There are two types of PSCs : Type I , made from a mixture of ice crystal and nitric acid , which produce less spectacular color and arelinked to the establishment of ozone holes ; and Type II , which are composed of pure deoxyephedrine crystals and develop more graphic colors . The cloud that recently formed over the Arctic were Type II .
(Image credit: Ramunė Šapailaitė)
The shimmer complex body part only form in the lower stratosphere , between 9.3 and 15.5 miles ( 15 to 25 kilometers ) above Earth ’s surface . Normally , clouds do not form this high up in the atmosphere because it is too dry . But at extremely modest temperature — below minus 121 degrees Fahrenheit ( minus 85 level Celsius ) — wide spaced water molecules begin to coalesce into petite crank crystals that further aggregate into clouds .
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(Image credit: Ramunė Šapailaitė)
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Stratospheric temperatures in the Arctic seldom drop below the threshold needed for PSCs to make , so they are normally only spotted a handful of times every yr during wintertime calendar month . The utmost cold child’s play that extend to the recent visual aspect of PSCs may have been spark in part by the currentEl Niñoevent , which can bear on temperature around the poles . However , human - causedclimate changecould also be to blame , according to Spaceweather.com .
Experts say there is a high chance that we will see more PSCs in the Arctic over the next few months , concord to Spaceweather.com .
(Image credit: Ramunė Šapailaitė)
