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Cirrus clouds with contrails at sunset

Cirrus clouds with contrails at sunset

 

For our weather serie

 

Cirrus is an atmospheric cloud generally characterized by thin, wispy strands, giving the type its name from the Latin word cirrus meaning a ringlet or curling lock of hair.

It forms when water vapor undergoes deposition at altitudes above 5,000 m (16,500 ft) in temperate regions and above 6,100 m (20,000 ft) in tropical regions.

Cirrus cloud ranges in thickness from 100 m (330 ft) to 8,000 m (26,000 ft)

Contrails are a manmade type of cirrus cloud formed when water vapor from the exhaust of a jet engine condenses on particles, which come from either the surrounding air or the exhaust itself, and freezes, leaving behind a visible trail. The exhaust can also trigger the formation of cirrus by providing ice nuclei when there is an insufficient naturally-occurring supply in the atmosphere.

Source: Wikipedia.

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Uploaded on July 22, 2014
Taken on July 21, 2014