Polar explorers of the 30th Antarctic expedition managed to see a beautiful and rare phenomenon - mother-of-pearl clouds.

Dear Tom,What are mother-of-pearl clouds?—Oscar Johns, WilmetteDear Oscar,They are polar stratospheric clouds, also known as nacreous clouds or simply pearl clouds. They are rare, high altitude ...

We saw similar photos of rainbow-like clouds in early 2023, too. These rare rainbow clouds, more scientifically known as nacreous clouds, only appear in extremely cold weather conditions.

The clouds, which also go by the name of nacreous clouds, appear only in extremely cold weather. They are created by tiny ice crystals that scatter sunlight creating little rainbows in the sky.

Nacreous clouds form in the stratosphere, at 70,000 feet or above – more than twice as high as commercial airliners fly.