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WORLD - SKY VIEWER : PHOTOS SANS FRONTIERES - PARTIR A LA DECOUVERTE DU MONDE ET SORTIR DES VALEURS CONNUES POUR RENCONTRER DES GENS ET DES PAYSAGES MERVEILLEUX... Let us talk about Luke Howards (1773-1864) and clouds to introduce this gallery... Before 1800, observers spoke of clouds only as "essences" floating in the sky. Clouds had no names and were not well understood. Luke Howard noted three basic shapes to clouds: (1) heaps of separated cloud masses with flat bottoms and cauliflower tops, which he named cumulus Latin for heap; (2) layers of cloud much wider than they are thick, like a blanket or a mattress, which he named stratus Latin for layer; (3) wispy curls, like a childs hair, which he called cirrus Latin for curl. To clouds generating precipitation, he gave the name nimbus Latin for rain. Clouds are found in three layers in the lower atmosphere. Thus, with four types of clouds and three layers, we come up with 12 major cloud types that have evolved from Luke Howard's pioneering work. If you feel like it, you may now identify the clouds appearing on some of the photos below...

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