Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle’s Cloud Prototype No. 6 is a sculpture made from aluminum alloy foil, fiberglass, and steel. He based the sculpture on altocumulus lenticular clouds, which form when ambient airflow is disrupted by mountains. Suspended near Gate B33 in the Zurich Airport, the sculpture is representative of weather patterns common in mountain ranges such as the Alps.  When I took the photo, I thought it was some kind of UFO spaceship.

Resized_20170522_085156Altocumulus lenticular clouds are often called “standing lenticular clouds.”  That’s the name they were given in private pilot ground school years ago.   Even though they appear to be stable and stationary, these clouds are actually indicative of great instability in the atmosphere and are a sign of the presence of severe turbulence.  Because of their shape, people sometimes think standing lenticular clouds are UFOs.

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Standing lenticular clouds. Picture taken December 21, 2010 by Ethan Nelson

Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle was born in Madrid, Spain, in 1961, and was raised in Bogotá, Colombia, and Chicago, Illinois.

Sculpture Saturday is a challenge hosted by Susan Kelly at No Fixed Plans.

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