On May 28, satellites recorded an unusual cloud over the Caspian Sea, which NASA called " It provides an interesting example of how satellites can detect similar phenomena in the Earth's atmosphere, according to Space.. com.

Scientists used the Terra satellite to observe the cloud as it moved toward the ground and then dissipated. This was supposed to help them learn more about how small stratocumulus clouds take on a similar shape..

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Stratocumulus clouds tend to form at a low altitude above the earth's surface.. The same cloud was recorded at an altitude of 1500 meters. But what else distinguished this cloud from others was a clear boundary that could be seen on satellite images..

“Sharp edges often form when dry, warm air coming from land collides with colder, moist air over the ocean, and a cloud forms at this boundary,” said Bastian van Diedenhoven, an atmospheric scientist at the Netherlands Institute for Space Research SRON..

The appearance of such a cloud in this region, and not over the ocean, is unusual.. However, it can be explained by the presence of the Caspian Sea, the world's largest inland water body..

According to Didhoven, the cloud formed when warmer, drier air from the Balkans met colder, wetter air over the Caspian Sea..

The cloud began to dissipate a few hours after it was recorded by the satellite.. The photo of the structure was taken late in the morning over the sea, by noon it began to move towards the coast of Russia. The cloud completely dissipated when it began to move over the ground.

Terra is a very long-term Earth observation mission that was launched in 1999.. It remains fully functional despite approaching a quarter of a century in space..

The advantage of long missions such as Terra is that they allow researchers to track changes in the Earth's environment with the same sensors, thus ensuring measurement consistency.. However, NASA and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are sending new satellites into space to collect various types of measurements.? - and as a backup for older missions.