'UFO cloud' spotted floating over UK: Dazzling picture of rare formation ~ Technology Update

Captured on a crisp winter sky these dazzling clouds look nothing like their normal fluffy white counterpart.

Known by experts as the Altocumulus Lenticularis, but dubbed the UFO cloud by many, this formation was spotted above Farsley in West Yorkshireyesterday.

And although incredibly rare in the UK the clouds are a common sighting in the Himalayas, Andes and Rocky Mountains.

The clouds are formed by stable but moist air which has travelled across the Pennines, causing a standing wave to become established.
Lenticular clouds are said to be the single biggest explanation for UFO sightings across the world.

Bright colors (called Irisation) are sometimes seen along the edge of lenticular clouds.

These clouds have also been known to form in cases where a mountain does not exist, but rather as the result of shear winds created by a front.