Ireland is renowned for its stunning landscapes, charming cities, and rich cultural heritage. But did you know that this small island nation also hosts a truly captivating natural spectacle? We’re talking about Ireland’s “rainbow” ice crystal clouds.
These clouds, also known as polar stratospheric clouds or nacreous clouds, form in the stratosphere, the layer of the Earth’s atmosphere situated between 10 and 50 kilometers above the surface. They consist of tiny ice crystals that refract sunlight in such a way that they appear iridescent and multicolored.
A Rare Sight
Earlier this week, timelapse footage captured across Ireland featured shooting stars, spectacular sunsets, and breathtaking vistas. But the skies offered another stunning sight – clouds tinged with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
These rainbow clouds, or nacreous clouds to give them their scientific name, first began appearing in skies over Dublin, Galway, and Belfast. Many people, amazed by the celestial event, felt compelled to share the moment on social media platforms.
Science Behind the Spectacle
Joanna Donnelly of Met Éireann provided an intriguing explanation. The iridescent clouds are a diffraction phenomenon caused by low winter sunlight bouncing off small ice crystals in the clouds and scattering the light to create a rainbow-like pattern, though in a more unusual form.
While the explanation might be straightforward, the event is still quite rare in Ireland. The clouds need to be at just the right height, contain just the right amount of wispiness, and be illuminated at exactly the right angle by the sun.
These clouds are most likely to be seen in the hour after dawn and the hour before sunset and are most common in the winter months closer to the North Pole. So, keep your eyes peeled next winter – you just might catch a glimpse of this rare and enchanting phenomenon!
