Sunset in the sky

As the days get longer and the sun travels more to the north, it gives a wonderful scenery in the sky.

Then I started noticing that just before and after sunset, there is this faint sun pillar in the sky.

A sun pillar is a vertical column of light that appears above or below the sun, creating a stunning visual effect. It occurs when sunlight interacts with ice crystals in the atmosphere, typically from high-altitude cirrus clouds. Here’s how it works:

Ice Crystals: When the sun is low on the horizon (such as during sunrise or sunset), its light passes through a layer of hexagonal ice crystals. These crystals can be found in thin, wispy clouds.

Light Refraction: As sunlight enters the ice crystals, it refracts (bends) and splits into different colors. The hexagonal shape of the crystals causes the light to spread out vertically.

Pillar Formation: The refracted light rays bounce off the bottom faces of the ice crystals and create a vertical column of light. This column appears as a bright pillar extending upward or downward from the sun.

Colorful Display: Sun pillars can exhibit various colors, including red, orange, pink, and purple. The specific colors depend on the angle of the sun, the size of the ice crystals, and atmospheric conditions.

Sunset and Sunrise: Sun pillars are most commonly seen just before sunset or just after sunrise when the sun is near the horizon. The low angle allows the light to pass through more ice crystals, enhancing the effect.

Remember, these beautiful phenomena are temporary and can vanish quickly as the sun moves. So if you ever spot a sun pillar, take a moment to appreciate its natural wonder!

My other blogs:

Roadscape Photography
Chevrolet El Camino 1970
Life @ Köyliö, mostly Finnish

Art in the sky

Few previous days have been quite clear sky due high pressure over Finland, which has really started the spring and summer time in here. Yesterday there were thin clouds high above and they made fantastic shapes.

High thin clouds, also known as cirrus clouds, form at altitudes above 6,000 meters in the sky. They appear as delicate, wispy, and feathery strands composed of ice crystals. 

Cirrus clouds are often light gray or white, and you can sometimes see the Sun or Moon through them. These clouds typically cover much of the sky and indicate fair weather conditions. So, when you spot cirrus clouds, it’s a sign of pleasant weather ahead! 

My other blogs:

Roadscape Photography
Chevrolet El Camino 1970
Life @ Köyliö, mostly Finnish

How much does cloud hold water

As I was on a walk with my dog, I noticed that this cloud had a low hanging tail, which just means that it is raining. 

And as we got nearer it seemed to fade away, but still visible.

And then we were directly under the tail and it didn't rain at first, but soon enough it rained.

Whole raining thing last quite short time, we walked less than 50 meters and we were on the other side of the tail. And then there were the sun.

Rain clouds don’t actually “hold” water like a bucket. Instead, they consist of countless tiny water droplets or ice crystals that are too small to feel the effects of gravity. Let me explain further:

Cloud Composition:

• Clouds are primarily composed of small water droplets and, in colder conditions, ice crystals.
• These particles are so minuscule that their fall velocity is negligible, making them appear to float in the air.
• The radius of a typical water droplet ranges from a few microns (thousandths of a millimeter) to a few tens of microns. Ice crystals are often slightly larger.
• Even a large water droplet with a radius of 100 microns falls at a speed of only about 27 centimeters per second (cm/s).
• Irregularly shaped ice crystals fall even more slowly due to their shape.

Why Clouds Float:

• The small size of cloud particles prevents them from rapidly descending.
• Upward vertical motions (updrafts) in the atmosphere contribute to the floating appearance of clouds.
• Clouds typically form, survive, and grow in air that is moving upward.
• Rising air expands as pressure decreases, causing cooling. This cooling leads to water vapor condensation, which sustains and enlarges the clouds.

Comparing Cloud Mass to Air Mass:

• Consider a hypothetical small cloud at an altitude of 3000 meters.
• Although it may contain a lot of water, this water is spread out over miles in the form of tiny droplets or crystals.
• The total mass of a cloud is relatively light compared to the mass of the surrounding air.

So, even though typical clouds contain a significant amount of water, it’s distributed across vast distances in the form of these tiny particles, defying gravity and creating the illusion of floating clouds

My other blogs:

Roadscape Photography
Chevrolet El Camino 1970
Life @ Köyliö, mostly Finnish