Top 13 Remarkable Natural Phenomena on Earth

Roll clouds are clouds that look like they've been rolled into a horizontal band across the sky. They appear low in the sky and are among the few clouds that indicate severe weather. It's a clue that there's a storm ahead or some other weather boundary, like a cold front or sea breeze. Roll clouds are rare to spot, but they'll let you know where there's a storm brewing. These clouds are formed by the movement of cold air currents. Tube-shaped clouds typically appear ahead of storms. The storm's movement causes moist air to rise, and as it rises, the temperature drops, causing the moist air to condense into small droplets.

If this process happens near a mass of warm air, the surface of the cold air mass can be pushed up by the warm air, creating tube-shaped clouds. Due to the influence of the warm air mass, the humidity and temperature of the surrounding air quickly increase, causing strong winds. The wind both advances and rotates horizontally along the cloud axis. From a distance, we can mistake a tube-shaped cloud for a horizontal dragon's tail.

When the Moon is at its fullest and closest to Earth, it becomes a supermoon. The Moon orbits Earth in an elliptical path, causing its size when observed from Earth to vary. A 'supermoon' occurs when the moon is full and closest to Earth, while a 'micromoon' happens when it's farthest away. A supermoon happens when humans perceive the Moon to be larger than usual because it's closer to Earth at the point nearest to its elliptical orbit around Earth. The closest distance of the Moon to Earth is 363,700 km, during which time the Moon appears about 14% larger than normal and is about 30% brighter compared to when it's farthest away at around 405,600 km.

The term 'supermoon' has been used for about 40 years, but it wasn't until the end of 2016 that it gained significant attention when three consecutive supermoons occurred. The November 2016 supermoon was also the closest the Moon has been to Earth in 69 years, although a closer occurrence will happen around the 2030s. During other supermoon occurrences in the past, such as in 1941, 1948, 1992, and 1900, many unusual weather phenomena were observed worldwide. While supermoons can slightly affect tides, they certainly do not cause natural disasters. Full moons already lead to higher tides, and while supermoons may exacerbate this effect slightly, they don't create any significant differences. Scientists consider themselves fortunate if they can observe any differences in tide levels. Typically, supermoons cause tides to be less than an inch different (if at all).

Mamatus clouds in Vietnam are also known as dragon scale clouds. Mamatus is a meteorological term applied to the phenomenon of cloud pouches hanging beneath another cloud layer. It's a normal meteorological phenomenon. In Vietnam, these types of clouds have appeared numerous times. Mamatus clouds are a cellular pattern of pouches hanging beneath the base of a cloud, usually a cumulonimbus cloud, although they can be attached to other layers of the parent cloud. According to the WMO international cloud atlas, mamma is a supplementary feature of a cloud rather than a genus, species, or multiple clouds. They are formed by sinking cold air creating pouches opposite to clouds growing through the convection of warm air. Anyone seeing these dragon scale clouds for the first time would likely exclaim, “The sky is falling!” Despite their strange appearance, mamatus clouds are not dangerous – they simply signal that a storm may be nearby.

When you see these clouds, it's related to stormy weather. They often appear underneath dark clouds. The initial conditions for the formation of Mamatus clouds are a storm accompanied by heavy rain and thunder. However, these Mamatus clouds are harmless, and their appearance usually comes at the worst phase when the storms pass. Mamatus consists of undulating cloud layers and transparent undersides that can form extensive fields of clouds spanning hundreds of kilometers. A group of Mamatus clouds with a diameter of 1-3 km and a length of about 0.5 km exists for an average duration of 1 minute. However, a large group of Mamatus clouds can last from 15 minutes to several hours. They often carry ice or may be a mix of ice and water or simply contain all water within the cloud's belly. The United States is the country where this phenomenon can be observed most frequently. During hot weather months, the turbulent movement of the air layer in these cloudy conditions prompts scientists to advise against aircraft operation in areas with many of these clouds.

The area of blue ice is an ice region in the Antarctic, where strong winds cause snow erosion, resulting in net mass loss on non-melting ice surfaces, thereby causing some Antarctic regions to appear blue (in contrast to the white color around). Blue ice areas usually form when the movement of both air and ice is impeded by terrain such as mountain peaks rising from the ice sheet, creating locations with special climatic conditions conducive to the accumulation of firn formed by windblown snowmelt. Only about 1% of the Antarctic ice sheet surface area is blue ice. But they attract the research interest of scientists due to the relatively large number of meteorites lying in this area. Many meteorites have fallen directly into the blue ice region and lie there or fall onto ice streams and drift to blue ice areas through ice streams. In addition, ice with a lifespan of up to 2.7 million years has been found from blue ice regions.

Blue ice areas are sometimes also used as runways for aircraft. One of the most astonishing sights in Antarctica is the undulating waves of blue ice floes resembling a frozen ocean. The blue ice floes appear where there is sublimation of the snow, the blurry inner surface is wind-polished, the surface of the ice reflects an impressive turquoise when the polar sun rises above the horizon. Antarctica is currently the only place on Earth with such unique blue ice floes. Without the scattering effect of air bubbles, light can penetrate deeper into the ice. To the human eye, ice floes belonging to ancient ice sheets act as a filter absorbing red and yellow light, while reflecting blue light, creating the beautiful shades of blue of an ice river.

Fire Dragon, also known as fire whirls or fire tornadoes, is a rare but remarkable natural phenomenon mostly occurring and recorded during wildfires. Most fire dragons form within raging forest fires. They are created when hot air currents converge and rise, causing surrounding air masses to rush in to fill the void and collide with each other, forming an upward-swirling vortex (similar to when a large object is pulled out of water, creating a whirlpool as surrounding water rushes to fill the void), carrying the flames beneath. These fire dragons usually reach heights of less than half a meter before extinguishing, resembling a dancing flame throughout the burning area, earning them the nickname 'fire demons.'

Recorded fire dragons typically range from 10 to 50 meters in height and a few meters in width. However, sometimes these fire dragons can reach heights of kilometers with swirling wind speeds of about 160 km/hour and persist for over 20 minutes. The towering flames are fueled by swirling oxygen drawn into the core of the fire dragon, which can reach temperatures of over 1,000 degrees. At this temperature, it can burn almost anything, and anything drawn into it becomes fuel to sustain the upward-swirling core fire. Consequently, under certain temperature and convection conditions, a vertical swirling convection akin to a fire dragon can be formed. The flame caught and carried upward within that vortex can be fires around the area that created it or the fire that generated this convection. Fire dragons can uproot trees up to 15m tall and incinerate them, and these fire whirls can carry fire from one place to another, making wildfires larger as the moving column of fire cannot be extinguished except by cutting off the oxygen supply.

Light pillar is an optical phenomenon in the atmosphere in the form of a vertical shaft of light appearing to extend above or below a light source. This effect is caused by the reflection of light from numerous small ice crystals suspended in the atmosphere or clouds. Light can come from the Sun (usually when it is near or even below the horizon), in which case this phenomenon is called a sun pillar. It can also come from the Moon or from ground-based sources such as streetlights. Because they are caused by the interaction of light with ice crystals, light pillars belong to the family of halos. The crystals responsible for light pillars often include flat, hexagonal plates, which tend to orient themselves more or less horizontally as they fall through the air. Their crystal surfaces act like a giant mirror reflecting light upward or downward into an illusory image. When the crystals are disturbed by turbulence, the angles of their surfaces deviate slightly horizontally, causing a reflection (i.e., a bright column) to extend into a column. The larger the crystals, the more pronounced this effect becomes. Occasionally, column-shaped crystals can also produce bright columns. In extremely cold weather, ice crystals can hang near the ground, in which case they are called diamond dust.

Unlike a light cluster, a light pillar does not lie above or below the light source. The appearance of a vertical line is an optical illusion, resulting from the reflection of light from ensemble crystals off ice crystals. Only the images lying in a vertical line direct the rays of light to the observer (similar to the reflection of light from a water crystal source). Bright columns caused by the reflection of sunlight, moonlight appear in areas near the poles due to ice crystals in the air. Because the phenomenon of water freezing in the air only occurs at 2 poles, we rarely have the opportunity to observe them much. This is a reflection based on the scattering of light, similar in nature to a rainbow but the difference is one side is caused by water vapor and the other side is caused by ice. To date, scientists have not yet found the most appropriate explanation for the phenomenon of Light Pillar.

Sét núi lửa là sự phóng điện gây ra bởi một vụ phun trào núi lửa, chứ không phải từ một cơn giông thông thường. Sấm sét núi lửa phát sinh từ các hạt va chạm, phân mảnh của tro núi lửa (và đôi khi là băng), tạo ra tĩnh điện trong khối núi lửa. Các vụ phun trào núi lửa đã được gọi là giông bão bẩn do sự đối lưu ẩm ướt và sự hình thành băng điều khiển động lực phun trào và có thể kích hoạt sét núi lửa. Nhưng không giống như giông bão thông thường, sét núi lửa cũng có thể xảy ra trước khi bất kỳ tinh thể băng nào hình thành trong đám mây tro. Những quan sát đầu tiên được ghi lại về sét núi lửa là từ Pliny The Younger, mô tả sự phun trào của núi Vesuvius vào năm 79 sau Công nguyên. Các nghiên cứu đầu tiên về sét núi lửa cũng được tiến hành tại Núi Vesuvius bởi Giáo sư Palmieri, người đã quan sát các vụ phun trào năm 1858, 1861, 1868 và 1872 từ đài thiên văn Vesuvius. Những vụ phun trào thường bao gồm hoạt động sét. Có vẻ như hiện tượng sét núi lửa này được phát ra trực tiếp từ miệng núi lửa. Theo các nhà khoa học, cho tới nay hiện tượng đó vẫn còn nhiều điều bí ẩn.

Núi lửa là 1 lỗ hổng trên bề mặt Trái Đất khi khí plasma được hình thành dưới vỏ Trái Đất phun lên bề mặt Trái Đất thông qua lớp lỗ hổng, nó sẽ giải phóng đá, dung nham và tro. Tuy gây ra nhiều thiệt hại và rất nguy hiểm nhưng những cảnh tượng khi núi lửa phun trào vẫn tạo ra những màn trình diễn ánh sáng Mặt Trời tuyệt vời. Các nhà khoa học chưa thể giải thích được vì sao sét lại xuất hiện khi núi lửa phun trào. Họ cho rằng những phân tử tro được sạc điện phụt ra trong quá trình núi lửa hoạt động đã phản ứng với không khí để tạo ra những tia sáng trắng như thế. Sét núi lửa và sét trong các đám mây bão đều hình thành do sự va chạm của các hạt. Thay vì các hạt băng va chạm trong đám mây bão thì sét núi lửa là do các hạt macma tạo nên. Sau đó, để có những tia sét, các hạt macma tích điện cần phải tách biệt thành các vùng khác nhau trong cột tro bụi núi lửa. Trong chùm hỗn loạn này, các hạt kích thước khác nhau sẽ rơi xuống với tốc độ khác nhau tạo ra các vùng hạt tích điện khác nhau. Cơ bản là sẽ tạo ra vùng điện âm và vùng điện dương tách biệt. Khi có hai khu vực hạt tích điện trái dấu, không gian ở giữa trở thành một trường điện từ cho phép điện truyền qua không khí. Đây là cách những tia hoặc chùm sét xuất hiện trong tro bụi núi lửa hoặc đám mây bão.

Bioluminescent sea is a mesmerizing phenomenon occurring in specific locations on Earth's beaches. Instead of the usual darkness, visitors are treated to the sight of the ocean glowing with a blue bioluminescent hue as each wave crashes onto the sandy shore. This phenomenon occurs due to the luminescence of certain types of plankton suspended in the seawater. These plankton are believed to be bioluminescent algae that emit red light during the day and cause phenomena like red tide when they bloom in large quantities. At night, they emit blue light, creating the mesmerizing effect. They move within the seawater, causing the phenomenon described above.

Until now, the bioluminescent ability of these floating algae remains partially understood. According to recent research, scientists have discovered a special substance on the cell membrane of these plankton. This substance exhibits unique biochemical reactions and sensitivity to electrical signals, which may be the cause of bioluminescence. Scientists at Rush University in Chicago have affirmed that these algae possess all the necessary factors to trigger luminescence. It allows positively charged protons to pass through, triggering electrochemical reactions that activate luciferase, a protein responsible for producing blue bioluminescent light.

Waitomo Glowworm Cave is home to thousands of glowworms at a depth of 40 meters. Here, visitors feel like they're floating amidst a Milky Way with countless stars twinkling. Located in the town of Waitomo in North Island, New Zealand, this cave is part of a system of three caves, including Waitomo, Ruakuri, and Aranui. It was discovered by local chief Tane Tinorau and English surveyor Fred Mace in 1887. By 1889, it became widely known and quickly became a popular tourist destination for many international travelers. In 1906, the New Zealand government officially took ownership of the cave.

In astronomy, aurora is a rare optical phenomenon formed by the radiation from the sun that creates colorful streaks in the sky. In the night sky, the lights are generated by the interaction of charged particles from the sun with the upper atmosphere of the Earth. The Sun's solar wind emits large electric currents towards the Earth, which are blocked by the upper atmosphere of the Earth, resulting in an electrical conflict. When collided like this, it creates continuous and changing bands of light that resemble silk ribbons in the sky. This fascinating phenomenon is beautiful and magnificent in the night sky, but it can only be observed in certain specific areas, making it one of the most beautiful images of nature. On Earth, the Moon, Mars, Venus, and Jupiter, auroras are generated by the interaction of wind particles from the Sun with the magnetic field of the planets. Therefore, they are most pronounced at high latitudes near the poles.

In physics, aurora is explained in detail by electromagnetic collisions. The Sun is about 150 million km away from the Earth and directly affects our planet. You may be familiar with solar storms, which are nuclear reactions with charged particles emitted by the Sun into space in enormous quantities, forming streams of electric particles flying in space. When this stream of charged particles passes through planets, including Earth, it impacts the atmosphere. The atmosphere acts to block harmful rays from directly contacting the Earth's surface. This solar storm incident also causes auroras to occur. When the solar wind contacts the atmosphere, electrons in the atoms in the atmosphere layer will move up to higher energy orbitals. When an electron moves back to its orbital and has lower energy, it will emit a particle of light or photon. The emission of light from this photon creates the phenomenon of aurora. Neon lights also exhibit similar phenomena, but on a much smaller scale. Auroras appear and have shapes of arcs or spirals along the Earth's magnetic field lines. The colors of the auroral bands are different because there are various gases in the atmosphere that affect the wavelengths of light, creating many vibrant colors.'

Clouds with bizarre and intimidating shapes like this storm are called Asperitas clouds, or 'apocalypse clouds.' Asperitas (formerly known as Undulatus Asperitas) is a special cloud formation, but it is also quite rare to create shapes like undulating waves. These wave-like structures form at the bottom of the cloud, making it look like the rugged surface of the sea when viewed from below.

The way Asperitas clouds form is still a mystery, but there is much debate and speculation about how wave-like clouds are formed. One theory is that their presence is related to the aftermath of convective storms, although they are often seen in relatively mild weather conditions. Another hypothesis is that they are created when dragon scale clouds descend in regions of changing wind direction at altitude, causing wave-like motion.

Many people are confident that they've seen everything strange in the world. But hold on, perhaps they should think again when witnessing a peculiar phenomenon in Finland. It's the appearance of thousands of 'egg' ice balls lying on the shores of Finland. This bizarre weather event is so peculiar that it brings to mind the giant's coffee beans! A bold thought, but a reasonable one! Although this scene looks quite odd, scientists assure that it's entirely 'made in nature,' with no intervention from any magic or extraterrestrial beings.

However, the conditions to form ice like this must be a bit special! The water temperature must fluctuate close to the freezing point, and the air temperature must be slightly below zero. The weather must also be windy enough to create conditions for small waves to form. This is crucial because too much wind can prevent the formation of the balls, and the ice balls can also freeze solid on the shore when there's no wind. Additionally, the coast must have plenty of sand and be shallow.

According to CNN Weather, these egg-shaped ice blocks appearing on the beaches off Finland are formed when waves near the coast break up layers of soft ice. These pieces then bond together at very low temperatures, then are shaped by sea waves and wind erosion to create a smooth, round appearance like eggs.