Spectacular UFO Lenticular Cloud & X-Files "X" Timelapse 3-9-2010 in Santa Clarita

A few times each year in Santa Clarita, the conditions are just right for these strange clouds to form. They're sometimes called "UFO" clouds because of their rounded, saucer-like shapes and hovering behavior. They've been around as long as any other kind of clouds, and were "officially" described/catalogged in the mid 1800s - long before man could fly, HAARP or even use of electricity by humans. Much earlier records (paintings, text, etc.) no doubt exist as well. In the scientific world, they're known as Lenticular clouds (Altostratus lenticularis), or "standing wave" clouds, and generally form over, downwind of, or sometimes upwind of mountain ranges. This event occured in the afternoon and evening of March 9th, 2010 when fast-moving winds aloft were deflected upwards by the mountains near Santa Barbara (Los Pinetos National Forest), providing some spectacular skies around sunset.

The cause is interesting... Fluid dynamics also apply to air, since wind moves much like water; it flows over the surface of the earth and when it encounters surface features (like mountains) it flows up and over them, like boulders in a river, generating ripples/rapids in the airstream above and downwind. Unlike water, these air currents are normally invisible, unless clouds exist to make them visible. Lenticular clouds form when moist air from lower altitude is forced up into colder, lower pressure layers of the atmosphere where it condenses at the peaks of the air rapids and waves. As the air descends down from the peaks, it warms and evaporates. The result is a cloud that remains mostly stationary while lower cumulus and higher cirrus clouds pass above and below. The size and shape of cloud is determined by the shape of the air current "rapids" and conditions at adjacent altitudes. Lenticulars which form at the peaks of "rapids" can be rounded and oblong like the one shown here. Waves, shelves, and other shapes can also form, as seen at the end of the video and in my many other Lenticular cloud videos.

This basic diagram I found online shows a bit of what's happening:
http://www.tpub.com/content/aerographer/14312/css/14312_84.htm

Another interesting item in the sky near sunset was a jet trail fragment cross in the nearly perfect shape of an X-Files "X" - even the font was right! Two still images captured with a Casio EX-F1 at 12x zoom show this interesting feature close-up, while an annotation in the last time lapse video sequence shows it barely visible at such a wide angle.

The music is the last half of "Lunar Seas" from the "StarSpin" online (EP) CD by TECHNICIAN (yours truly), which was originally written and released (in part) on the "Fun with Fire" video. Full artist discography, MP3 downloads and CDs are available at the Technician website: HTTP://technician.jcmdi.com

-Enjoy the show!

Note: This is copyrighted material, however, you may download this footage directly from YouTube and use it free of charge in your own non-profit/non-commercial YouTube videos. The full free usage policy with copyright notice/claim and partner ad info can be found here:
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[GregOrca]

Hey jcmegabyte, some conspiracy nut " Sheilaaliens" has ripped off your video and claiming it to be "chemclouds"

watch?v=lTe9SpaweP8

[jcmegabyte]

@GregOrca Thanks for pointing that one out - it was interesting tracing it back to the mirrored-image version she got it from in Germany, and who knows how many versions it went through before that! XD She probably didn't even know it originally came from me since it wasn't mentioned in the vid she got it from. Either way though there's no problem with her using it, as I do allow free use of my material by others (for non-profit use). Thanks again for looking out for me =) Cheers!

[coolglock19]

it was not HAARP

[jcmegabyte]

@coolglock19 Indeed.... While HAARP may be able to influence weather systems and patterns to some degree, it's probably not capable of generating individual lenticular clouds as seen here... I guess most people don't know that Lenticular clouds hae been around forever, being officially named and categorized in the 1800s, long before RF and even electricity was in use. :-) Cheers!

[LordSidious2008]

Awesome

[jcmegabyte]

@LordSidious2008  Thanks so much =) Cheers!

[verducss]

2000 like NICE!.

[JcmdiStockFootage]

@rumerxs Now that would be cool to see some video of that... if you know of any, please post the link or vid ID  :-) Cheers!

[rumerxs]

Great work...Last year in SC there was a lenticular event that really solidified the UFO name to these clouds...these were like Motherships.

[GregOrca]

@coolglock19

"sexy guys"

Yeah, I get that a lot.

Chicks love my Australian accent and god-like physique and humble modesty.

But I'm taken sorry.

[coolglock19]

@GregOrca sexy guys

[GregOrca]

@coolglock19

Unfortunately people with very little understanding of science make little attempt to understand complex phenomena, especially fluid dynamics.

They just cling to infactile concepts they read in comic books or hear other uneducated people write on blogs.

Try using scholarDOTgoogleDOTcom rather than google which just displays the most popular responses to a search term rather than the CORRECT response.

[GregOrca]

@coolglock19

yeah. Have a read about lenticular cloud formation

atmosDOTwashingtonDOTedu/acade­mics/classes/2010Q1/536/2003AP­_lee_waves.pdf

wiredDOTcom/wiredscience/2009/­09/clouds/

[coolglock19]

@GregOrca oh..yeah

[GregOrca]

@coolglock19

it has nothing to do with haarp.

It's normal condensation.

[GregOrca]

@Sheilaaliens

Why "got told" ? I informed JCMegabyte you were using his video.

He was not aware you had copied it.

He thanked me for informing him and looking out for him.

As he correctly states, such lenticular clouds have been a normal sight for all of human historyand have been thoroughly documented since the 1800s before RF or electricity or aviation