What do you see?: The unusual cloud formation that lit up the sky in Turkey

The Turkish city of Bursa got the chance look up and “see the face of God”. A spectacular image that went viral in a matter of hours. A very particular cloud formation, colored by the play of dim light of dawn, formed an image that the inhabitants described as a “divine eye”. In social networks, users have found other and various ways.

A true Rorschach test in the Turkish firmament.

It happened on Thursday morning, in a predominantly industrial region located in the northwest of the Islamic country. As explained by the specialists of the Turkish Meteorological Directorate to the Al Jazeera portal, it was a phenomenon known as ‘Lenticular cloud’.

They are stationary cloud formations that form mainly in the troposphere, typically in alignment parallel to the wind direction. they often are comparable in appearance to a lens or saucer.

Their unique appearance has been suggested as an explanation for some UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) sightings photographed over the years.

In fact, many Bursa residents have compared the formation to flying saucers. It all depended on the perspective and from the moment the cloud was seen. And of the viewer.

As the different catches of the moment started going viral on social networks, the similarities changed. Many thought they saw the eye of Sauron, the omnipresent villain of the Lord of the Rings saga, who sees everything from a mountain. They also referred to “Nope”, the latest film by Jordan Peele in which a mysterious cloud overwhelms a city in the United States.

Others, for their part, have joked about their resemblance to a female vulva. “God give me a sign to call my ex,” one tweeter wrote. Another, a Spaniard, wondered “what the hell is that?”

“Let’s see if now men find out what it’s like,” one Twitter user sarcastically wrote.

How lenticular clouds form

Lenticular clouds form when air traveling along the earth’s surface encounters some type of natural obstruction, such as mountains or hills that cut off its flow. swirling airflow. or areas of turbulence.

When moist, stable air flows over a larger gyre, such as those caused by mountains, a series of large-scale standing waves form on the leeward side of the mountain. If the temperature at the crest of the wave drops below the dew point, moisture in the air can condense forming these types of clouds.

It is a typical phenomenon of mountain areas. There are three main types of lenticular clouds: Altocumulus Lenticular Clouds (ACSL), Stratocumulus Lenticular Clouds (SCSL) and Cirrocumulus Lenticular Clouds (CCSL), which vary according to the altitude above the ground.

Pilots of powered aircraft usually try to avoid flying near lenticular clouds. due to turbulence and rotor downdraft generated at the trailing edge of these clouds. However, those who man gliders try to actively seek them out, as the moving air at the edge makes climbing through their formation much easier.