Dayshot: They look like the wrath of Hades and Poseidon combined, but these beautiful, fiery clouds, captured by Breckenridge Resort in Colorado, have a simple physical explanation, and it’s rooted in fluid dynamics.
The Kelvin-Helmholtz instability creates one of the most ubiquitous patterns in nature — a series of breaking ocean waves that curl over themselves again and again. It starts with a velocity difference between two fluid layers, which causes unequal shear at their interface. This instability results in turbulent flow, which manifests as a series of overturning whorls. The resultant pattern, which can be seen in Saturn’s bands, Jupiter’s red spot, and the surface of the Sun, is often stunning.
Image Credit: Breckenridge Resort via Twitter