How was it possible that a cloud could resemble the ‘Eye of Sauron’ from the movie The Lord of the Rings? Here are the keys.
The cloud seen in Turkey has gone viral on social media in just a few days. Image: CNN
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From time to time we are witnesses of how nature always has some surprises in store for us. We are used to seeing how electrical storms loom over very localized spaces or how volcanoes shoot volcanic material from the center of the Earth. Even so, there is always the occasional event that goes viral due to the expectation generated. In a world in which it is very easy to have access to international information, in recent days An image that occurred in the sky of Turkey has gone viral.
It is a kind of reddish cloud that undoubtedly reminds us of the fantastic antagonist of the film The Lord of the Rings. Who was going to tell us that Sauron could have his own interpretation of him in real life? The images were quickly published on the Internet, so it soon crossed borders. After a few hours, there had already been millions of people who could have had access to some incredible images and that have aroused curiosity in the scientific field.
What has generated this curious cloud shape in the sky? Let’s see what has led to this image of the Turkish city of Bursa, what this natural phenomenon is called and, of course, to what extent cloud formation is possible with these exciting shapes. It is, without a doubt, an element that does not occur every day and, therefore, requires several variables to be combined at the same time.
A reddish cloud arouses the interest of the scientific community
The city of Bursa, located just a few tens of kilometers from Istanbul to the south, has produced the event that is on everyone’s lips on social networks. It is, without a doubt, an episode that draws attention for the amazing image that has been created on the Turkish sky. In scientific terms, this formation in the sky is called a lenticular cloud. This occurs when there is a linearly stratified structure. It occurs mainly in environments where there is a presence of mountains in the surroundings.
According to the information offered by The Washington Post, this phenomenon can take place when the winds closest to the ground push the air masses towards a terrain with a high slope. Under these circumstances, there is a pressure difference in the atmosphere, generating this type of cloud so characteristic. The wind, however, can play a differential role, since it will move the accumulation of water beyond the mountain.
Therefore, for this natural phenomenon to occur, the presence of strong gusts of wind is a necessary variable. In this particular case, the presence of a cloud with this typology has attracted particular attention due to its curious shape, but the truth is that they are more normal than one might think. Without a doubt, what most attracts the attention of the image (in the same way that happens on other occasions) is to see how there is absence of other formations of water vapor nearby with the same intensity.
This type of event has been seen on previous occasions and, at the same time, with all kinds of shapes and sizes. However, the example seen recently in this population is the spitting image of how viral a photo taken by a user can become. It should be noted that most of the snapshots collected about the event in Turkey were taken at dawn, when there is a perfect and adequate luminosity for taking images of the sky.
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