Cirrostratus showing an extremely large halo. This photo was taken from ground level with no zoom.
Cirrostratusclouds belong to a class characterized by a composition of ice crystals and often by the production of halophenomena. They appear as whitish and usually somewhat fibrous veils, often covering the whole sky and sometimes so thin as to be hardly discernible. These clouds are of high altitude (20,000–40,000 ft or 6,000–12,000 m). Compare cirrostratus with other stratus cloud formations at lower altitude: altostratus, nimbostratus, and low altitude stratus clouds. Cirrostratus Photo taken by Fir0002 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Cirrostratus Photo taken by Fir0002 File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Cumulus of fair weather A cloud is a visible mass of condensed water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere above Earths (or another planetary bodys) surface. ... Halo around the sun at the South Pole (NOAA) Halos are optical phenomena that appear near or around the Sun or Moon, and sometimes near other strong light sources such as street lights. ... An optical phenomenon is any observable event which results from the interaction of light and matter. ... Altostratus is a cloud belonging to a class characterized by a generally uniform gray sheet or layer, lighter in color than nimbostratus and darker than cirrostratus. ... A Nimbostratus is a cloud of the class characterized by a formless layer that is almost uniformly dark gray; it is a rain cloud of the layer type, of low altitude, usually below 8000 ft (2400 m). ... A Stratus cloud is a cloud belonging to a class characterized by horizontal layering with a uniform base, as opposed to convective clouds that are as tall or taller than wide (these are termed Cumulus clouds). ...
Cirrostratus are sheet-like, high-level clouds composed of ice crystals.
Though cirrostratus can cover the entire sky and be up to several thousand feet thick, they are relatively transparent, as the sun or the moon can easily be seen through them.
Cirrostratusclouds, however, tend to thicken as a warm front approaches, signifying an increased production of ice crystals.
Cirrostratusclouds are so thin that the sun and moon can be seen clearly through the cloud.
Ice crystals in cirrostratusclouds bend the light rays from the sun or moon as they pass through the cloud, which forms the halo around the sun or moon.
Thick cirrostratusclouds give the sky a bright white appearance and often signal precipitation within 24 hours, especially if they are followed by mid-level clouds.
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