1. Paintings are common enough that there is a name for the artists’ works – cloudscapes.
2. There are a tremendous number of names and classifications. Many of these can occur together in the same stretch of sky.
3. Irisation is a type of rainbow affect from the sun named after Iris, Greek goddess of rainbows.
5. Morning Glory clouds are rare most places except for the southern part of Northern Australia’s Gulf of Carpentaria. Glider plane pilots are actually attracted to the location to “surf” these cylindrical clouds. Here’s an image of several:
6. A cloud field is the name for a group of them but these can also have their own classification.
7. Cloud Feedback is the name for the interaction between the cloud cover and ground surface air temperatures. The temperature can alter the cloud formations which in turn can change the temperature.
8. Pilots should know the names of clouds and how they pertain to the weather. A friend of mine could always identify them from his private piloting days. It’s a fond memory of him now that he’s passed away.
9. Earth is not alone in having clouds. Any moon or planet with an atmosphere can have them.
10. Liquid methane is thought to make up the clouds of Titan, Saturn’s moon.
11. Fog can be a result of the lowest clouds, called stratus, contacting the ground.
12. Most clouds form in that part of the atmosphere called the troposphere. A few occur as high as the stratosphere and beyond that middle layer to the mesosphere.
13. Iridescence is an uncommon phenomenon caused by uniform water droplets caught by the light of the sun or moon. Here’s a picture:
