Waterspouts are spotted in the Florida Keys more than any other place in the world. Waterspouts are like tornadoes but occur over water and are usually accompanied by high winds and seas, large hail and frequent dangerous lightning. Photographers flock to the site, but the ideal picture requires a balance of forces: enough moisture to fuel the 1,000ft waterfall, clear skies to let the light through and the right angle for the sun to hit the famous falls. If conditions are right, it creates the illusion of a ‘firefall’ where the waterfall glows orange and red, giving the impression of fire. Horsetail Falls, USAĮvery February, Horsetail Falls in Yosemite National Park is illuminated by the setting sun. For the light pillars to show, the ice crystals need to be near the ground. For ice crystals to form, the conditions need to be extremely calm and cold, without wind. These occur when light from the sun or moon is reflected upwards by ice crystals that form in frosty air. Light pillars are an optical phenomenon in which narrow beams of light seem to extend from the sky to the ground. The process is harmless as long as you’re not lighting up close by. At night, the sea is lit by marine bioluminescence, generated by plankton known as dinoflagellates.Ĭaused by the decomposition of organic matter like plants, animals and microbes, the flammable gas travels closer to the surface in warmer months, eventually escaping into the atmosphere. The island of Vaadhoo in the Raa Atoll of the Maldives is famous for its ‘sea of stars’. In fact, it’s said that these clouds are one of the most common explanations for UFO sightings across the world. Mammatus clouds look like bulges or pouches emerging from the base of a cloud while lenticular clouds look like flying saucers. These are thought to appear in the aftermath of convective thunderstorms. What no one told us is that it doesn’t have to be this way… Menno van der Haven/Shutterstock Vladimir_41/Shutterstock Shutterstock Asperitas, mammatus and lenticular cloudsĪsperitas clouds are a natural phenomena that look like rippling waves. They threaten to burst over July barbecues, and preside over weddings like harbingers of doom. You see, we rarely get that wispy, brilliant-white, cotton candy cloud that glides through warmer climes. The British tend to nurse an aversion to clouds. Scientists say that Catatumbo is normal lightning that just happens to occur far more than anywhere else due to local topography and wind patterns. This raised fears that it was extinguished permanently but it reappeared several months later. Fernando Flores/CC BY-SA 2.0Īfter appearing continually for centuries, the lightning ceased from January to April 2010, possibly due to drought. This ‘eternal storm’ of lightning occurs on 140 to 160 nights a year, 10 hours per day and up to 280 times per hour over Lake Maracaibo, usually over the area where the Catatumbo River flows into the lake. The phenomenon is usually seen in northern regions like Canada, Alaska, Norway, Greenland and Iceland, but have also appeared further south in Scotland and even New Orleans in the USA. The Aurora Borealis, more commonly known as the northern lights, is a natural light display caused by collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth’s atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun’s atmosphere. Seeing the curve of the Earth through the astronauts’ window reminded us of the extraordinary natural phenomena right here at home. The off-the-cuff comment was amusing, but also surprisingly poignant for it reminded us of the damage being wreaked by humans – not only on each other but the planet itself. Given the turmoil of our times, one observer quipped, “Congratulations to the Astronauts that left Earth today. When, in 2020, Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken made history as the first astronauts to launch into orbit on a private spaceship, the world took pause to watch. To celebrate the spectacle, we’re exploring the world’s most stunning natural phenomena. Every year, beginning around late February, the setting sun hits Yosemite’s Horsetail Falls at just the right angle to light the cascade in blazing orange and red hues, giving the appearance of flowing fire or lava. From the famous northern lights to the lesser-known sea of stars, we share the world’s most stunning natural phenomena

Natural phenomena