Anya Diamond (Member 64,597) was gifted this skyscape by her girlfriend, who captured the towering Altocumulus lenticularis duplicatus on their bike ride through Independence, California, US.

The distant peaks of the Eastern Sierra mountains (visible on the left of the horizon) are likely responsible for these enchanting forms. Moist air flowing over the mountains gets lifted up by the peaks, causing the water vapour it carries to cool and condense in lens shapes that can stack up like this on the leeward side of the range. The multilayered appearance, known as duplicatus, to the disc-like lenticularis form of Altocumulus results from airflows consisting of moister and drier layers. Above the cloud stack, Altocumulus undulatus cloudlets ripple into the foreground.

‘Is this a portal to the cloud universe?’ wondered Anya. We think it very well might be.