A luminous cloud formation was recently spotted in Costa Rica. The mysterious spectacle in the sky was reported to have occurred during the country’s Independence Day.
ABC News revealed that the colorful cloud phenomenon was seen in various cities like San Jose, Escazu, Parrita, Pavas and Hatillo. Many people shared photos and videos of the beautiful formation on social media.
According to experts, the occurrence was triggered by a rare weather phenomenon known as “cloud iridescence”. The multicolored luminescence originated from sunlight being refracted by water droplets and ice crystals in the cloud, explained Eladio Solano, a Costa Rica National Meteorological Institute expert, in a report by local media outlet Teletica.
Atoptics stated that when parts of clouds get thin and have the same droplet sizes, diffraction will make theses shine with colors similar to a corona. The colors are basically corona fragments. The colors can appear in random patches or bands at the edges of clouds. These are arranged into coronal rings when the droplet size is the same across the cloud.
The bands and colors will change or appear and disappear as the cloud transforms. These usually occur in cirrocumulus, altocumulus and lenticular clouds.
Social media sites were abuzz with people’s own interpretations of the cloud iridescence. Some had theories involving aliens and UFOs. Others linked the happening with the national holiday. There were also others who said that the rainbow cloud was like a sign that came from God.
Based on the same ABC News report, Escazu resident Joey Petit were with his family at the playground for an Independence Day festival when his son, Ariel Joseph, 11, initially noticed the colorful presentation in the sky.
“He immediately grabbed the camera and started taking video and photos. We were just so amazed. We had no idea what it was and we’d never see anything like it.” More residents shared their experiences with the strange cloud.
The cloud does not seem to cause any changes in the climate or weather, such as rain, storms and humidity, among others. The phenomenon appeared to be more of a visual display than anything else and did not pose any threat to people. Individuals were generally free to watch and record the weather occurrence in any manner they prefer.
The same phenomenon happened in South Carolina in August 2015, referred to as a “fire rainbow”. There is still no news where the next cloud iridescence would occur.
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