Polar Stratospheric Clouds over Umeå

Polar Stratospheric Clouds over Umeå, Sweden 🇸🇪
 
While making a snowshoe tour through a forest close to Umeå, Sweden, we observed this colourful spectacle in the sky. We tried to capture this magical moment by framing these beautiful clouds with the calm and snowy forest. 
 
The stratosphere is characterized by its aridity and is not typically conducive to cloud formation, unlike the troposphere. However, during the severe cold of the polar winter, various types of stratospheric clouds may emerge. These clouds, due to their lofty altitude and the Earth’s curvature, can capture sunlight from beneath the horizon and reflect it downwards, causing them to glow brightly even before sunrise or after sunset.
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📸 Canon EOS R6 | Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
⚙️ 1/200 sec• f/16 • 24 and 88 mm • 160 ISO
📍 Umeå, Sweden 🇸🇪
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