None (Atmospheric Phenomenon / Cirrus Cloud)

The image depicts Cirrus clouds, which frequently mimic the delicate structure of bird feathers due to wind shear. Cirrus clouds are thin, wispy strands often called 'mares' tails'. They are composed of ice crystals and form at altitudes where temperatures are freezing. While they appear stationary or slow-moving, they are often traveling at speeds exceeding 100 mph.

Brilliant white to semi-transparent against a cerulean blue sky; patterns formed by high-altitude wind shear

Composed of ice crystals suspended in the upper troposphere rather than keratinous barbs and barbules

Diffuse and gaseous in appearance; technically composed of solid ice hexagonal prisms

Fibrous appearance, white coloration, lack of a solid shaft, and background of a clear blue sky

Upper troposphere; global distribution

Worldwide; particularly common in the path of jet streams and ahead of weather fronts

Regulates Earth's temperature by reflecting incoming solar radiation and trapping outgoing infrared radiation (the greenhouse effect).

Semiplume or Down feathers of Large Egrets or Swans (when viewed out of context), but distinguishable by scale and environmental context.

Cirrus clouds can be used by naturalists to predict weather; 'mares' tails' often indicate an approaching warm front and a change in weather within 24 hours.

Fleeting; subject to dissipation via evaporation (sublimation) or changes in wind direction