This sky is too oily for me: Apocalyptic sky over the French Pyrenees

Look at these psychedelic clouds in the sky over the Cirque de Gavarnie in the central Pyrenees, in Southwestern France, close to the border of Spain.

Do you think it could be a sign of the next giant earthquake?

The scientific explanation

Genuine imagery showing cloud iridescence, also known as irisation.

It produces a vast range of rainbow-like colours in clouds resulting from the light that beams from the Sun, or even the Moon in some cases. The wide spectrum of colours we see are like those of soap bubbles and spilled oil we sometimes catch a glimpse of when the angle of light is right. On land, in the natural world, we see a similar effect in mother-of-pearl and opal minerals.

This multitude of colours is in fact a type of optical illusion that occurs in a cloud. The setting has to be just right for the phenomenon to occur. The colours result from the diffraction of light. Fundamentally, diffraction occurs when a wave encounters an obstacle or opening, as waves bend around an object or through an opening. The occurrence is all down to the physical structure of an object which causes waves of light to combine and interfere.

What about chemicals sprayed in the sky? Experts have increasingly warned against manipulating Earth’s natural systems, but politicians don’t care.

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