iridescent clouds

Colorful clouds above a tree-and-snow-covered ridgeline

Iridescent clouds have rainbow colors

Clouds with rainbow colors are called iridescent clouds. The names comes from Iris, the Greek personification of the rainbow. Photos here.

Iridescent Kelvin Helmholtz clouds

These clouds look like breaking ocean waves. It's rare to see them iridescent!

Wow! Polar stratospheric clouds spotted across the UK

Polar stratospheric clouds - also called nacreous clouds or mother-of-pearl clouds - have been putting on a show this week. Check out these beautiful images.

Seven vertical double, narrow lines of colorful cloud with a jet at the top of each.

Iridescent contrails? Rainbow contrails? Something else?

They look like iridescent contrails. But, are they? We asked Les Cowley, an atmospheric optics expert, who gave a different opinion.

Circumhorizon arc or iridescent cloud?

It's easy to confuse a circumhorizon arc with an iridescent cloud, and vice versa. Circumhorizon arcs are more commonly seen at this time of year.

Eerie white and blue thin clouds shining in a dark sky and reflected over a pond.

Rocket launches can create night-shining clouds

A study shows that rocket launches can cause night-shining, or noctilucent, clouds. These are wispy, ethereal clouds found high in the mesosphere.

Mostly cloudy sky, clouds drift over rusty landscape.

Curiosity sees rare clouds on Mars

Clouds on Mars are infrequent, but the Curiosity rover has captured some. Scientists are analyzing the images to learn about these elusive atmospheric delights.

Circumhorizon arc over a ridgeline, with the sun just out of view at the top of the image.

Not a rainbow, not an iridescent cloud

There are many colored arcs in the sky. This photographer captured one commonly seen in summer, when the sun is high in the sky.

Polar stratospheric clouds over Sweden

Northern Europe had an amazing display of these clouds this week.

Iridescent cloud over Kentucky

Iridescent clouds appear in the same direction as the sun. Rainbow-like colors appear irregularly over the clouds in the form of colored edges, spots and bands.

Wow! Nacreous clouds over UK this week

Nacreous clouds - also called mother-of-pearl clouds - are putting on a show in the UK this week. Check out these photos from the EarthSky community.

Astronauts’ sunrise with night-shining clouds

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station took this panoramic photo looking northeast from a point about halfway along the Aleutian Island chain.

Large gibbous moon, tiny red dot for Mars, ducks flying in a V, against slate-blue background.

Top 10 space objects to see during the day

Love astronomy, but don't like to stay up late? Here are the top 10 space objects you can see - under the right conditions - during the day.

Faint crepuscular rays against gray clouds.

Sunrays on Mars, captured by Curiosity

NASA's Curiosity rover has captured our 1st clear image of crepuscular rays or sunrays on Mars. The rover also caught cloud iridescence on Mars.

Planet with large areas of green, teal, orange, and magenta on differently textured areas.

Pluto terrain in rainbow colors

Take a look at Pluto in this rich false-color image. The colors help to highlight the differences in the dwarf planet's terrain.

A day at the beach

A July 4 day at the beach, with a circumhorizon arc overhead.

Atmospheric scientists say ‘no chemtrails’

Is there a large-scale, secret program to spray chemicals into Earth's atmosphere, resulting in "chemtrails?" Leading atmospheric scientists just say no.