特殊的荚状云

New Zealand’s stunning scenery has famously provided the backdrop for fictional worlds in fantasy films. A unique cloud that forms over the Otago region of the country’s South Island also evokes the otherworldly, while very much existing in reality.
NASA/Lauren Dauphin; USGS

Landsat 8’s Operational Land Imager acquired this image of an elongated lenticular cloud, locally nicknamed the “Taieri Pet,” above New Zealand’s South Island on Sept. 7, 2024. Lenticular clouds form when prevailing winds encounter a topographic barrier, such as a mountain range. Wind that is forced to flow up and over the mountains creates a kind of wave in the atmosphere. Air cools at the crest of the wave, and the water vapor it contains condenses into clouds.

Image credit: NASA/Lauren Dauphin; USGS

新西兰的迷人景色曾为奇幻电影中的虚构世界提供了著名的背景。在新西兰南岛奥塔哥地区上空形成的一种独特的云层也让人联想到另一个世界，尽管它确实存在于现实中。
NASA/Lauren Dauphin; USGS

2024年9月7日，陆地卫星8号的操作陆地成像仪在新西兰南岛上空拍摄了这张细长的透镜状云的图像，当地昵称为“Taieri Pet”。当盛行风遇到地形障碍（如山脉）时，就会形成透镜状云。风被迫向上流动并越过山脉，在大气中形成一种波浪。空气在波峰处冷却，其中的水蒸气凝结成云。

影像来源: NASA/Lauren Dauphin; USGS