Pearl clouds - 26.1.2023 at 15.55 - 26.1.2023 at 16.48 Oulu Observation number 111597

Nacreous clouds (mother-of-pearl clouds) are clouds that occur in winter and are best seen at dusk in the morning and evening when the Sun is below the horizon.

Although the name of pearl clouds refers to spectral colors, colorless, pale nacreous clouds are mainly observed in Finland. A striking feature related to pearl clouds in Finland is also the strong brown, which makes the landscape bathe in intense red or purple light.

The Sky Watch has categories for colorless elections (type I) and colored (type II) pearl clouds, as well as the brown subtype.

This selection reports type I colorless pearl clouds. While ordinary clouds are located in the lowest layer of the atmosphere in the troposphere, pearls form in the stratosphere above this at a height of 15 to 25 km above the ground. They occur when the stratosphere is exceptionally cold, about -75 ...- 85 C. The particles that cause pearls are either pure water ice (type II) or chemically different crystals, all of which contain nitric acid (type I) as an ingredient.

Changes in stratospheric thermal conditions are quite sluggish, which is why pearl clouds are seen continuously for at least a few days unless the lower clouds obscure the view. Nacreous clouds can be extensive in their occurrence and can occur simultaneously throughout Finland. However, the focus of the performances is in Lapland. The appearance of nacreous clouds in the sky can be predicted by stratospheric temperature predictions.

Nacreous clouds observations made in Finland from 1996 to 2014 show that they had been seen from December to March. Most occurred in December-January, in March nacreous clouds were reported in only one year. The particles responsible for the pearl clouds can also give rise to the Bishop ring. The Bishop’s ring may be a clear sign of nacreous clouds when the Sun is on the horizon. The pearl clouds themselves usually stand out when the Sun is on the horizon, but in this case they are usually very ghostly cloud fibers and easily go unnoticed

Type I nacreous clouds. Image by Panu Lahtinen.

Noctilucent clouds like nacreous clouds of type I. Image by Mikko Peussa.

Half an hour before sunset, wavy nacreous clouds. These nacreous clouds stood out exceptionally well from the daytime sky. Image by Marko Riikonen.

Pearlescent brown is a brownish sunset associated with pearl clouds that appears at dusk in the morning and evening when the Sun is below the horizon.

It is usually remarkably powerful and makes the landscape bathe in red or purple light. Most often, some degree of pearlescent is observed in the context of pearl clouds. Pearl brown can also be the dominant element in which the actual pearl clouds stand out poorly if at all.

The pearl clouds themselves are reported in the Sky Watch in the categories of colorless light (type I) and spectral color (type II) clouds.

Parel clouds are often also associated with the Bishop ring. The Bishop’s ring may be a clear sign of pearls when the Sun is on the horizon. In addition, pearlescent cloud fibers are visible, which, however, are often very inconspicuous when the Sun is on the horizon.

The Pearl Bishop gradually turns into a pearl brown in the evening as the sun continues to sink below the horizon. In the morning the opposite. However, the Bishop ring is not always visible, even if pearl clouds are observed in the morning or evening. In this case, the pearlescent brown would also appear to be weak or non-existent.

Sunset colors with pearl clouds Eetu Saarti.

Close up of mother of pearl brown. It also shows type I pale pearl clouds. Photo by Mika Aho.

Pearlescent sunset by Veikko Mäkelä.