Strange Skies
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Camera

Eerie sun halo photographed in the sky of Bali, Indonesia


Strange Sounds
Fri, 20 Nov 2015 16:20 UTC
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© Shea D.This amazing sun halo appeared over Bali, Indonesia on November 14 2015.
These incredible pictures were sent to Strange Sounds by Shea D., a follower of the blog.

This amazing sun halo appeared in the sky of Bali on November 14, 2015. Another sign for new extreme weather events to come?

Sometimes, rings around the moon or the sun may announce rain or a tropical storm coming soon as halos form through ice crystals which are usually present in high altitude cirrus clouds. And these clouds arrive days before an advancing cold or warm front, which bring rain. It is to keep in mind that not all cirrus clouds are associated with storm systems.

Therefore most of the rings indicate an increase in water in the upper atmosphere.
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Question

Mystery space objects land in Spain


The Local, Spain
Fri, 13 Nov 2015 14:08 UTC
Space Object
© Guardia Civil
Rocket fuel tanks, chunks of satellites or something else entirely... In just over one week, three mysterious objects have fallen from the sky onto the country's southeast.

The mysterious debris has brought in bomb disposal agents and experts in hazmat suits to rush to examine the finds as puzzled locals looked on.

First up a strange black beehive-like ball was found by shepherds in Mula, a town in the region of Murcia last week.

Then at the weekend, a similar-looking, smaller object was discovered in Calasparra, just 30 kilometres (19 miles) away in the same region.

"In the early morning of the day when the first object was found, witnesses said they saw between six and seven balls of fire falling from the sky," Maria Jose Gomariz, spokeswoman for Calasparra town hall, said on Thursday.

"Maybe there were just two balls of fire and it looked like there were more... or some may have fallen in areas where no one goes."
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Camera

Elusive 'green flash' of the sun photographed in Aberdeenshire, UK

Amanda Williams
Daily Mail, UK
Wed, 11 Nov 2015 19:22 UTC
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© Derek RyanA green flash is a phenomenon in which part of the sun can be observed suddenly and briefly changing colour.
It is a moment so fleeting that it is rarely caught by the human eye - let alone on camera.

But an amateur photographer has managed to record the elusive 'green flash' of the sun, an optical phenomenon that makes the sun appear to turn green as it rises above the horizon.

Derek Ryan, 50, spotted the unusual sight during an early morning walk at the beach at Tarves, Aberdeenshire, before work.

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© Derek Ryan
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© Derek RyanAn amateur photographer has managed to record the elusive 'green flash' of the sun, an optical phenomenon that makes the sun appear to turn green as it rises above the horizon.
A green flash is a phenomenon in which part of the sun can be observed suddenly and briefly changing colour.
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Cloud Grey

Lenticular clouds 'invade' Cape Town, South Africa


RT
Tue, 10 Nov 2015 16:22 UTC
lenticular clouds
© beanibop / Instagram
They're not space invaders bent on conquering earth, but a weird phenomenon whipped up by Mother Nature - probably to keep us alert. Lenticular clouds over South Africa provided the kind of show that could easily be mistaken for an alien invasion.

Looking like a scene from 'Independence Day', this beautiful invasion is sure to take the breath away, as it did for Cape Town residents on Sunday. Few knew those were actually lenticular clouds - wonders of nature who owe their name to their shape - a lens-like protrusion.

Comment: Increasingly unstable weather patterns have been producing bizarre cloud patterns around the world recently. Factors which may contribute to these 'strange skies' are possible comet dust loading and changes in the layers of the atmosphere.

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Sun

Stunning three suns phenomenon appears at sunrise in northern Russia


Strange Sounds
Mon, 09 Nov 2015 19:36 UTC
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A triple sunrise has been spotted in northern Russia on November 6, 2015.

The three suns phenomenon - known as a 'sundog' or 'phantom sun' - is created by the presence of tiny ice crystals in the air. Magical.

Could you imagine that waking up in the morning to what appeared to be three separate suns on the horizon?

The ice crystals are too small to be seen with the naked eye.

However they refract the sunlight resulting in three brightly burning suns.

According to the video, this phenomenal optical illusion was captured on November 6, 2015.

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Tornado1

Amazing lenticular clouds form over Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica


The Costa Rican Times
Mon, 09 Nov 2015 01:36 UTC
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Something almost surreal happened at the Turrialba Volcano on Friday...or should I say over the volcano! At 6:08 am lenticular clouds appeared. I was not aware that these types of clouds even existed.

Lenticular clouds are a phenomenon that creates a look similar to a tornado. It occurs from time to time, particularly over volcanos. It has been observed at other times at Arenal and Irazu. An expert from the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory confirmed the current occurrence.

The strange cloud formations were photographed and the pictures have overtaken social media. Lenticular clouds form in conditions of high winds. They are unique to high mountainous areas, according to the National Meteorological Institute. They are different than clouds traveling fast with surface winds because they appear tornado-like.
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Cloud Grey

'Cloud tsunami': Ominous storm shelf cloud forms over Sydney


RT
Fri, 06 Nov 2015 07:31 UTC
shelf cloud over Sydney
© David Gray / ReutersA Chinese tourist watches storm clouds moving along the coast towards the city of Sydney, Australia, November 6, 2015.
Rough weather has moved to Australia's biggest city, Sydney: watch how a striking storm shelf cloud hangs over Bondi Beach, amazing locals and tourists alike. It comes a day after storms and tornados battered the neighboring state of Victoria.

The Bureau of Meteorology has warned of severe storms across Sydney, the Hunter region, and the South and Central coasts, saying that heavy rainfall and flash flooding may be in store for residents.

Comment: Other cloud formations observed around the world this week that are not so common include: With increased dust loading of our atmosphere from exploding space rocks and volcanic eruptions in recent times, we can expect to see more strange and unusual cloud formations.

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Cloud Grey

Unusual wave-like clouds filmed over Breckenridge, Colorado

Caitlin Oprysko
ABC News
Wed, 04 Nov 2015 22:53 UTC
wave clouds
© Instagram / angelacasperThese "wave" clouds, officially called Kelvin-Helmholtz billows, were shot over Breckenridge, Colorado.
A stunning cloud formation in Breckenridge, Colorado has residents of the ski resort saying "surf's up." Last Friday, the town was treated to an incredible sunset featuring wave-like clouds that even seem to "break" like a wave would in the ocean.

According to Andy Russell, a weather and climate lecturer at Brunel University, the Kelvin-Helmholtz billows are an indicator of atmospheric instability. They form when a layer of cloud is found beneath a layer of warmer air and the two layers happen to be moving in separate directions.

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Binoculars

Weird 'tornado' cloud over Cincinnati has National Weather Service puzzled

Jennifer Ketchmark
WCPO
Thu, 05 Nov 2015 22:22 UTC
weird cloud cincinati
© Scripps Media
A weird cloud over the west side has experts puzzled Thursday afternoon.

The good news is it's not a tornado and it doesn't pose a threat to the Tri-State, according to the National Weather Service. But what is it?

That's not clear.
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Rainbow

Rare rainbow cloud spotted by tourist in Jamaica

Mark Molloy
The Telegraph
Wed, 04 Nov 2015 23:03 UTC
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© Beckie Bone Dunning
A holidaymaker was amazed when she looked up at the Caribbean sky and spotted this stunning rainbow.

Beckie Bone Dunning was visiting the Jamaican port town of Ocho Rios when she captured the amazing sight on camera. "I looked up and saw this," she wrote on The Weather Channel's Facebook page, "never seen it before in my life. Can you explain it?"

She added: "I didn't have a clue what it was. I pointed up and said 'oh my God look, at the sun!'. Then the guests at the resort all started looking and snapping pictures."
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Comment: With so many space rocks exploding into dust plus volcanic eruptions over the last few years, there's probably a near-total film of dust in the upper atmosphere most of the time, which would lead to the above "rainbow clouds."

There appears to a growing number of these kind of incidents over the last few years:

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