NASA Satellite Shows Two Stunning Atmospheric Phenomena off Baja California

Andrea Thompson, Published: Jun 12, 2014, 9:03 AM EDT
Link: http://www.weather.com/news/science/nasa-satellite-shows-two-stunning-atmospheric-phenomena-baja-california-20140612

NASA's Aqua satellite snapped this image of a set of swirling eddies called von Kármán vortices and a rainbow-like optical phenomenon called a glory off the coast of Baja California on June 8, 2014. (NASA)

NASA’s eyes in the sky are important parts of weather-monitoring efforts, with satellites tracking hurricanes as they barrel across the ocean and storm systems as they sweep across the country. But sometimes they just find really cool stuff in the atmosphere.

The von Kármán vortices, named for Hungarian-American physicist Theodore von Kármán, appear as a set of eddies following each other in a line. To explain how they form, it helps to remember that air is a fluid, just like water. Just as a rock can perturb water flowing around it in a stream, an island or some other obstacle can perturb the clouds and air flowing over it.

The aptly-named glory happens when light from the sun is scattered backwards by water droplets in clouds. To an observer on the ground, they appear as a halo of rainbow colors directly opposite the sun in the sky. They are most often seen in thin clouds or fog from mountains or other high ground and from airplanes.