A photo of some strange-looking clouds was taken earlier this year by one of NASA’s instruments while the Terra spacecraft was swooping over the Gulf of Mexico.
It appeared as though someone had punched a hole in the sky with the clouds.
This strange occurrence is not brand-new. NASA claims that scientists have been recording it since the 1940s. But scientists didn’t discover an explanation until almost 15 years ago.
Although the formations are formally referred to as cavum clouds, they are often known as fallstreak holes or hole-punch clouds.
Read: What Is Employee Appreciation Day ?
They are so large that they are visible from both space and the earth.It makes sense why some have thought they were flying saucers or some other strange event. They don’t resemble clouds in the typical sense.
They aren’t your typical cloud, in fact. Cavum clouds would not arise if not for human technological advancements.
According to two studies published in 2010 and 2011, they arise when airplanes pass through banks of mid-level altocumulus clouds, which are clouds formed of supercooled droplets.
2010 saw the discovery by researchers at NASA’s Langley Research Center that the size of the cavum left behind will increase with the plane’s passing through cloud cover angle.
Read: Essential Safety Tips for Women Traveling on Business
According to the analysis, cavum clouds can be produced by any kind of aircraft. On January 30, images of a “cluster” of cavum clouds close to Florida’s west coast were taken by NASA’s Terra satellite.
The organization claims that a significant factor in the phenomena is the more than 1,000 planes that depart from Miami International Airport every day.
The purpose of the Terra satellite is to investigate climate change’s consequences and alterations in Earth’s atmosphere.
Researchers map the effects of natural disasters and human activity using data gathered from the satellite.
