Clouds

A wall of clouds encroaches the Al-Qassim region of Saudi Arabia in center of the Arabian Peninsula. This oblique angle shows an impressive cloud wall high into the atmosphere. The gradual fade above the clouds from light blue to black is known as Earth's limb.

Saudi Arabia is known to be the birthplace of Islam and nearby this photo is the city of Medina. Saudi Arabia is the largest country in the world without a major river. However, Saudi Arabia has plenty of coastline along the Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, and the Persian Gulf. To view satellite information when this picture was taken click here.

A variety of clouds are seen off the coast of Guatemala. Various shades of grey, white, and steel blue dominate the photo with warm orange tones peeking through the clouds. This picture was taken around 6:00 in the morning locally. The orange and yellow colors are likely due to the sun rise.

The Crozet Islands are a part of an archipelago in the Southern Indian Ocean near Antarctica. These islands have dramatic relief again the surrounding oceans, rising over 2500 ft above sea level. Wind traveling across the Indian Ocean acts as a smooth flowing fluid and moves around the tall islands. The result of this wind flow can be visualized by the V-shaped clouds on the leeward or downwind direction of the islands. A sliver of Île aux Cochons, or Pig Island in French, is seen in this photo causing the occurrence of the ship wave clouds.