Cirrus clouds can be observed during fine weather. Some of their species inform us that a warm sunny day will soon become pretty bad. These are white filamentary "fibers" through which such celestial bodies as the moon and the sun always shine through.
They are visible and very bright stars. On a clear day, cirrus clouds in no way reduce light. They are located in the upper tier of the troposphere. Their height usually ranges from 6 to 12 kilometers. They consist of ice crystals formed by cooling water droplets. Note that precipitation does not fall out of them!
Studying the atlas of clouds, scientists have found that they have a direct impact on climatic conditions of a global nature. Reflecting the solar radiation coming in their direction, they cool our planet, and delaying the outgoing heat, warm it. To date, scientists have not fully explored them, but when this happens, cirrus clouds will be an excellent help for meteorologists.
How are these clouds formed?
After a long and painstaking work, the researchers concluded that the formation of cirrus-type clouds occurs due to dust and combinations of metal particles, which make up their base - crystals.
What does it mean? The fact is that any cloud (not only cirrus) consists of small water droplets formed from water vapor, which, in turn, rises into the sky with heated air. Already at the top, this air begins to cool, and the steam condenses. But for this whole process to happen, droplets need very small particles that allow them to stick. In this role, dust acts. The scientific name for such a “union” is “condensation grains”. Such a discovery is the greatest breakthrough in cloud science. By the way, there is an opinion that cirrus clouds can form through human activity. But which one? Until this is clarified, the version will not find its confirmation.
How is fog formed?
This is very simple. The droplets that we wrote about above condense near the ground itself. The uniqueness of this phenomenon is that when we enter the fog, we actually pass through the cloud! At the same time, on clothes, on the face and hands, we feel its moisture. By the way, this easily explains the formation of air exhaled by us in the winter: when you exhale it becomes moist and warm, and when it comes in contact with frost it immediately turns into small foggy clouds.
"Relatives"
Very often cirrus clouds are combined with their “relatives” - cirrostratus and cirrocumulus. They are called "mixed." Cirrostratus reminiscent of a thin transparent veil, against the background of which colored rings often form around the moon or the sun. This is the result of refracted and reflected rays of light in ice crystals, of which, in fact, cirrus clouds themselves are composed. Cirrus cumulus resembles lamb or fish scales in appearance. They can be observed in parallel with cirrus clouds. They are important for our planet, preventing the decrease in temperature on the earth's surface.
