--- title: "Please Take a Moment and Enjoy This Beautifully Peaceful Cloud Formation" description: "Thanks to one prudent local in Wyoming, we now to get to behold a rare and extremely picturesque Kelvin-Helmholtz wave cloud." date: "2022-12-10" modified: "2022-12-10" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/enjoy-this-beautifully-peaceful-cloud-formation" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "clouds" - "nature" - "the digest" - "weather" --- # Please Take a Moment and Enjoy This Beautifully Peaceful Cloud Formation ![Thanks to one prudent local in Wyoming, we now to get to behold a rare and extremely picturesque Kelvin-Helmholtz wave cloud.]() *\Image: Rachel Gordon via Facebook / Futurism\* ## Sky's the Limit A cloudy day can often make for a dreary occasion, but not in this case. On Tuesday, a lucky group of skywatchers in Wyoming were mesmerized as they looked to the heavens and witnessed a rare and awe-inspiring formation of clouds, majestically enthroned over the Bighorn Mountains. It's so perfectly picturesque that it looks a bored weather god strung four prints of "[Under the Wave off Kanagawa]()" together to amuse themself. "This was special and I immediately knew I needed to capture it," Rachel Gordon, a local who snapped the photo, [told the *BBC*](). Man, are we grateful she did. So get your heads in the clouds and have a look at the pictures for yourself, or this [stunning timelapse]() spotted by [*The Washington Post*](). And if the whole thing looks very painterly to you, it's probably because these are believed to be the same kind of clouds that inspired Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night." https://twitter.com/accuweather/status/1600965438158131202 ## Fluke-tus This seldom witnessed formation is known as a fluctus, or more technically a Kelvin-Helmholtz wave cloud, caused by an instability of the same name that arises when a fast-moving upper stream of air travels even faster than a lower stream. Under the right conditions, the phenomenon can pull up the top layer of an existing cloud, forming the grand and flowing wave-like peaks depicted. "Part of the beauty of Kelvin-Helmholtz clouds is that they really show up the fluidity of the atmosphere," explained *BBC* meteorologist Matt Taylor. "How, like waves in the ocean, the atmosphere moves and responds to the environment around it," he added. "The air is effectively rising up and tumbling over on itself." Poetically put, Mr. Taylor. **More on nature:** *[This Extreme Closeup of an Ant Is Giving Us Actual Nightmares]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()