Tonight I drove home with my parents from a city 43 kilometers away from my home town. As we were nearing my home town, we noticed this light, pink ish cloud hovering over our town. The cloud just hovers over it, while the rest of the sky if just pitch black. We've seen this before almost every winter and every time we drove home from the city.
My dad says that maybe it's a sign that it was going to snow. But he was wrong because whenever I woke up in the morning, there was no fresh no on the ground, meaning it didn't snow even if those light clouds appeared.
Here's my theory:
You know how air and clouds are part liquid? And how liquid can reflect light? Well, I think that that light cloud is pinkish and light because it reflects the light coming off the streetlamps, homes, etc. I don't know if I even make sense here, but it makes me really wonder why that light pinkish cloud is always hovering over my town in winter, and why they don't hover over highways and such.
Correct me if my theory is wrong (but please, don't be so harsh about it). I'm only turning thirteen in the next three to four months, and know little about the sky. I'd like to get some real answers here, thank you very much.
My dad says that maybe it's a sign that it was going to snow. But he was wrong because whenever I woke up in the morning, there was no fresh no on the ground, meaning it didn't snow even if those light clouds appeared.
Here's my theory:
You know how air and clouds are part liquid? And how liquid can reflect light? Well, I think that that light cloud is pinkish and light because it reflects the light coming off the streetlamps, homes, etc. I don't know if I even make sense here, but it makes me really wonder why that light pinkish cloud is always hovering over my town in winter, and why they don't hover over highways and such.
Correct me if my theory is wrong (but please, don't be so harsh about it). I'm only turning thirteen in the next three to four months, and know little about the sky. I'd like to get some real answers here, thank you very much.
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Hi JD! Well your a pretty smart individual! ;)
Your theory is correct. What your most likely seeing is indeed the reflection of the city lights off the bottom of clouds or other particulates suspended in the air above.
The reason it appears pinkish is probably because your city, like most others, uses high pressure
sodium type street lights which give off a reddish orange glow.
It's cool looking....unless your into astronomy in which case it really sucks because that glow washes out the detail of deep sky objects when your trying to see them through a telescope.
Keep using your noggin and you'll go far! ;)
Your theory is correct. What your most likely seeing is indeed the reflection of the city lights off the bottom of clouds or other particulates suspended in the air above.
The reason it appears pinkish is probably because your city, like most others, uses high pressure
sodium type street lights which give off a reddish orange glow.
It's cool looking....unless your into astronomy in which case it really sucks because that glow washes out the detail of deep sky objects when your trying to see them through a telescope.
Keep using your noggin and you'll go far! ;)
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Your theory is exactly right. What you are seeing is light pollution from your town illuminating moisture in the air above your town. Good work!