A Heart shaped Lenticular Cloud

A heart-shaped Lenticular cloud for Valentine’s Day, appeared one morning last July above Mount Cook National Park in New Zealand.   Image credit Michael Kunze

A companion video shows the lenticular cloud was mostly stationary in the sky but shifted and vibrated with surrounding winds. The cloud’s red color was caused by the Sun rising off the frame to the right. Lenticular clouds are somewhat rare but can form in air that passes over a mountain. Then, vertical eddies may form where rising air cools past the dew point causing water carried by the air to condense into droplets. Unfortunately, this amazing sight made the fascinated videographer late for breakfast.

source APOD