This video shows an absolutely stunning cloud formation over Moscow. It was reportedly shot in Moscow's Western District last week. It makes me want to reread the fantastic intro to cloud watching, The Cloudspotter's Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds. From The Telegraph:
Talking to the Daily Mail, a spokesman from Moscow's weather forecasting service said: "Several fronts have been passing through Moscow recently, there was an intrusion of the Arctic air too, the sun was shining from the west - this is how the effect was produced."Bizarre 'Independence Day' cloud spotted over Moscow"
"This is purely an optical effect, although it does look impressive," he added.
"If you look closer, you can see sun rays coming through that cloud. Most likely, the sun was setting when the video was being made.
"If you observe clouds regularly, you may see many other astonishing things. Clouds of the same class may look absolutely different in different areas," he said.
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I, for one, welcome the arrival of our alien overlords....
District Niet.
Payback for moon bombing in 3, 2, 1...
danlalan: Yup, as soon as they can figure out the phase-shift required to solidify in our universe...
There was a discussion elsewhere about this, and chasing down links led me to here:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/09/clouds/5/
It might be a similar mechanism at play here: a sudden source of updraft creating the aperture in the clouds.
Nochnoy dozor?
The phenomenon, which many Muscovites could observe in the western part of the city, is an optical effect, meteorologists said.
http://english.pravda.ru/society/anomal/10-10-2009/109784-paranormal-0
If its a CGI hoax, they got Pravda to play along.
"Don't be frightened. We mean you no harm..."
Beats the Goatse cloud, but just wait till the religious nuts get a hold of it.
Pravda? Playing along? Old habits die hard...
Let's all welcome Sauron's successor!
Sauron was one of my first thoughts, also video game EMP? Angel circle pit? Big Iris in the Sky?
Someone could mix in some Half-Life 2 Cidadel footage into that to create some beautiful District 9 style video.
Eventually, it will float across the Atlantic to Washington for the Ascension.
Definitely faked by aliens walking around in the sky with boards strapped to their feet.
You guys stole all my friggin' jokes. Thanks a lot. ; )
Looks like the Others are about to throw down again.
Who knew that the rapture would start in the former USSR? After all those years of being warned against the Godless Communists? How could our US televangelists so mistake where God's country really is located? What else have they gotten wrong???
Saw something like this in the night sky, 15 or so years ago.
A "Hole Punch" through the high, thin clouds with the full moon at the centre. A very well-formed circle, like a paraselene.
Looks like a fallstreak cloud illuminated from the side..
In Russia you don't watch clouds, clouds watch you.
Definitely not CGI - I saw this cloud myseld in NW Moscow on October 7. You guys have got it right - a classic fallstreak hole in altocumulus clouds, with a cone of falling ice crystals below. Very beautiful sight, the cellphone video doesn't do it justice.
Reminded me of the movie when supercold stratosphere air comes to the ground and freezes New York. Could be beautiful, but it would scare the S**T out of me and I'd run!
http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/379/16227_hurricanes.html
@danlalan: LOL! Kent Brockman is proud of you!
Interesting shot of a cold sink from above the clouds on the blog at Rand Peck...A life in the air
This is HAARP weather warfare technology (also mind control technology).
Is that the opposite of a crop circle?
Nanoo Nanoo, Shuzbut.
Video was removed due to ToS violation? lolwut?