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 cloud s, the formation is a chance superposition of impressively periodic undulating air currents in Earth's lower atmosphere. Undulatus , a type of Asper it as 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.
Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)
Media Credits & Attribution
Image Credit & Copyright: Yuri Beletsky ( Carnegie Las Campanas Observatory , TWAN ); h/t: Alice Allen