Mind-Blowing Cloud Formations You Probably Haven't Seen Before

Various cloud formations might be one of the most beautiful and romantic sights in nature. Still, these masses of liquid droplets is also a complex and scientifically interesting natural phenomenon. The interesting fact is that regardless of the shape and the looks of the cloud, they’re all made of the same thing – condensed water or ice. When the sun heats the ground, warm air starts to evaporate and rise towards the sky. Once these water vapor particles cluster together, a cloud is formed.

Cirrus Kelvin-Helmholtz: Kelvin-Helmholtz is the scientific name for this impressive cloud formation. They are also known as billow clouds, shear-gravity clouds, KHI clouds, or Kelvin-Helmholtz billows. 'Fluctus' is the Latin word for "billow" or "wave" and this may also be used to describe the cloud formation, though that most often occurs in scientific journals. The clouds are named for Lord Kelvin and Hermann von Helmholtz. The two physicists studied the disturbance caused by the velocity of two fluids. The resulting instability causes the breaking wave formation, both in the ocean and the air. This became known as Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability (KHI). Kelvin-Helmholtz instability is not found on Earth alone. Scientists have observed formations on Jupiter as well as Saturn and in the sun's corona.