By Alex
Iceland is a popular destination for aurora photography, but in this high-latitude island nation, if you're lucky, you might also encounter rare nacreous clouds in the early morning. Earlier this month, Icelandic photographer Hörður Kristleifsson was fortunate enough to witness a vast expanse of these clouds one morning. The smoke-like thin clouds, illuminated by the morning light, transformed into rainbow hues, and through a small silhouette, the photographer marveled at the splendor of nature.
View this post on InstagramPost shared by Hörður Kristleifsson (@h0rdur)
Nacreous clouds (also known as mother-of-pearl clouds), referred to as pearl clouds or pearlescent clouds, are academically called polar stratospheric clouds and generally only appear in the winter months of the Arctic and Antarctic regions. The formation conditions for nacreous clouds include an altitude of 15 to 30 kilometers (within the stratosphere), temperatures between -70°C and -90°C, ice crystals about -10μm in size and of similar scale, in addition to the sun being 1° to 6° below the horizon. The high-altitude ice crystals produce bright and irregular rainbow colors through diffraction and interference phenomena. As the shape of the clouds and the angle of sunlight continuously change, the iridescent glow also shifts constantly, making it a breathtaking sight.
▲ (photo by h0rdur @IG)
Photography enthusiasts interested can check out more of Iceland’s landscape photography works on Hörður Kristleifsson’s Facebook, Instagram, and personal website.
▲ (photo by h0rdur @IG)
▲ (photo by h0rdur @IG)
▲ (photo by h0rdur @IG)
▲ (photo by h0rdur @IG)
Source: Hörður Kristleifsson