The Turkish town of Bursa had the chance to
look up and "see God's face"
.
It was a spectacular image, which went viral in a matter of hours.
A very particular cloud formation, tinted by the play of dim light at dawn, formed an image that the inhabitants described as a "divine eye."
In social networks, users found other and varied ways.
A true Rorschach test in the Turkish firmament.
It happened on Thursday morning, in a predominantly industrial region located in the northwest of the Islamic country.
As explained by specialists from the Turkish Meteorological Directorate to the Al Jazeera portal, it was a phenomenon known as
'Lenticular Cloud'.
They are stationary cloud formations that form primarily in the troposphere, typically in alignment parallel to the direction of the wind.
They are often
comparable in appearance to a lens or saucer.
Their unique appearance has been suggested as an explanation for some UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) sightings photographed over the years.
In fact, many of the Bursa residents compared the formation to flying saucers.
It all depended on perspective and
when the cloud was seen.
And of the viewer.
As the different captures of the moment began to go viral on social networks, the similarities changed.
Many believed they saw
the eye of Sauron,
the omnipresent villain of the Lord of the Rings saga, who sees everything from a mountain.
They also made references to 'Nope', Jordan Peele's latest film where a mysterious cloud convulses a town in the United States.
Others, for their part, joked about their resemblance to a female vulva.
"God give me a sign to call my ex," wrote one tweeter.
Another, Spanish, wondered "what the hell is that?"
"
Let's see if now men
discover how it is," a user wrote scathingly on Twitter.
How lenticular clouds form
Lenticular clouds form when air traveling along the Earth's surface encounters some type of natural obstruction, such as mountains or hills that interrupt the
flow of air in "eddies"
or areas of turbulence.
When moist, stable air flows over a larger eddy, such as those caused by mountains, a series of large-scale standing waves is formed on the leeward side of the mountain.
If the temperature at the crest of the wave falls below the dew point,
moisture in the air can condense
, forming these types of clouds.
It is a phenomenon typical of mountainous areas.
There are three main types of lenticular clouds: Altocumulus Lenticular Clouds (ACSL), Stratocumulus Lenticular Clouds (SCSL) and Cirrocumulus Lenticular Clouds (CCSL), which vary by altitude above the ground.
Powered aircraft pilots usually try to avoid flying near lenticular clouds
because of the turbulence and rotor downdraft generated at the trailing edge of these clouds.
However, those who crew gliders try to actively search for them, as the moving air at the edge makes it much easier to climb through their formation.
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