Interesting Photo of the Day: Asperatus Clouds Captured Over New Zealand

Interesting Photos

Stratocumuliform, cirrus, cumulonimbus, altocumulus: what do these strange words all have in common? They’re all used to classify different types of clouds. In this case, the scientific name is actually as cool as the object it describes. Clouds come in all kinds of varieties and it’s what makes many landscape photos dynamic and interesting. Pictured below are asperatus clouds floating over New Zealand captured by Witta Priester. These clouds are interesting in the fact that they vary greatly in visible texture rather than stay uniform throughout like most clouds:

Asperatus Clouds photographed by Witta Priester (Via Imgur)

If you haven’t heard the name asperatus before, it’s because it is a newly proposed classification for clouds. Gavin Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society, has been promoting this cloud type since 2009. The name has not been officially adopted yet, but if it is accepted, it will be the first cloud formation added since 1951.