The Seven Most Stunning Cloud Formations

Published September 19, 2013
Updated August 1, 2019

Undulatus Asperatus

The asperatus, or undulatus asperatus, cloud formation doesn’t formally exist yet. In 2009, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, determined that the United Nations had yet to classify the striking cloud formation in their International Cloud Atlas, which has authority on cloud classification. Pretor-Pinney proposed the name undulatus asperatus, meaning “roughened wave,” and will hear whether the United Nations has decided to accept his petition in early 2014. Until then, the wave-like cloud formation will officially remain nameless.

Cloud Formations Undulatus Asparatus

Source: Time To Lose

Nacreous Clouds

Nacreous Clouds

Source: Blogspot

Nacreous clouds are a type of Polar Stratospheric Cloud (PSC) that form at temperatures around minus 85ºC. These wave clouds occur in the lower stratosphere, and are often associated with very high surface winds around mountain ranges. Their bright, beautiful coloring comes from diffraction and interference to the mass of similar sized crystals that comprise them.

author
Kiri Picone
author
Kiri Picone holds a B.A. in English and creative writing from Pepperdine University and has been writing for various digital publishers for more than 10 years.
editor
John Kuroski
editor
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.