Glowing Magic Roiling, Rough Clouds -- a moment of surcease in these rough times

[SorellaLaBefana]

Is an unusual APOD [Astronomy Picture Of the Day] as the subject does not reach beyond the troposphere—where weather occurs. Asperitas Clouds Over New Zealand

...Although their cause is presently unknown, such unusual atmospheric structures, as menacing as they might seem, do not appear to be harbingers of meteorological doom.

Formally recognized as a distinct cloud type only last year, asperitas clouds can be stunning in appearance, unusual in occurrence, and are relatively unstudied. Whereas most low cloud decks are flat bottomed, asperitas clouds appear to have significant vertical structure underneath.

Speculation...holds that asperitas clouds might be related to lenticular clouds that form near mountains, or mammatus clouds associated with thunderstorms, or perhaps a foehn -- a type of dry downward wind that flows off mountains...

https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250817.html

"Asperitas" basically means "roughness"; however, the etymology is intriguing:

asperity(n.)
c. 1200, asprete "hardship," from Old French asperité "difficulty, painful situation, harsh treatment" (12c., Modern French âpreté), a figurative use,

from Latin asperitatem (nominative asperitas) "roughness," from asper "rough, harsh," which is of unknown origin. The Latin adjective was used also of sour wine, bad weather, and hard times.

https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=Asperitas

Asperitas clouds (once informally called Undulatus Asperatus) were given precise definition only in 2017. This was done after many years of work by one of the founders of another of my Daily Favourite Sites: Cloud Appreciation Society.

Here is Today's Cloud of the Day:


Which shows a Sun Pillar shining from the centre of Porto, Portugal. Sun Pillars are one of the remarkable things to be seen around the sun when there are ice crystals in the troposphere

https://cloudappreciationsociety.org/sunday-17th-august-2025

Peace. Calm.

[Nittersing]

1. Very cool!

I'm in Denver so we see lenticular a lot and mammatus occasionally. Never seen these!!!

[Borogove]

3. As a member of the Cloud Appreciation Society, I give this photo two thumps up.

[George McGovern]

4. FANTASTIC PHOTOS SorellaLaBefana!! Thank you for sharing with us AND for the cool link!!