Lenticular Irisation
September 16, 2008
Provided by: Carl Crumley
Summary Author: Carl Crumley, Jim Foster
The photo above shows irisation, also known as iridescence, in a lenticular cloud that appeared over Las Vegas on April 14, 2008. Irisation results from diffraction of sunlight around water droplets of various sizes. Droplet size plays a major role in determining the colors (usually pastel shades) that are displayed.