Images
September 2, 2025 - Open-Cell Clouds over the Great Australian Bight
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A large bank of stratocumulus clouds created a lacy covering over the Great Australian Bight on August 29, 2025. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this delicate-appearing feature on that same day.
Meteorologists break convective clouds into two main groups: closed-celled and open-celled. Both types get their general shape from Rayleigh-Bernard cells, the hexagonal patterns that form naturally when fluids are heated from below. While a deck of closed-cell clouds looks similar to a honey comb stuffed full of fluffy white in satellite images, open-cell cloud shows white tracing the cell borders and have open, empty centers. The lacy-looking formation captured in this image are open-cell clouds.
It might seem counterintuitive, but it is the open-celled clouds that generate rainfall, while closed-cell clouds produce little to no rain. This contributes to open-celled clouds’ tendency to break up in shape over just a few hours, while closed-cell clouds can retain their form for up to half a day. The pattern seen here suggests that some rain was falling over the Great Australian Bight near the time the image was acquired.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/29/2025
Resolutions:
1km (3 MB), 500m (6.2 MB),
Bands Used:
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
A large bank of stratocumulus clouds created a lacy covering over the Great Australian Bight on August 29, 2025. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this delicate-appearing feature on that same day.
Meteorologists break convective clouds into two main groups: closed-celled and open-celled. Both types get their general shape from Rayleigh-Bernard cells, the hexagonal patterns that form naturally when fluids are heated from below. While a deck of closed-cell clouds looks similar to a honey comb stuffed full of fluffy white in satellite images, open-cell cloud shows white tracing the cell borders and have open, empty centers. The lacy-looking formation captured in this image are open-cell clouds.
It might seem counterintuitive, but it is the open-celled clouds that generate rainfall, while closed-cell clouds produce little to no rain. This contributes to open-celled clouds’ tendency to break up in shape over just a few hours, while closed-cell clouds can retain their form for up to half a day. The pattern seen here suggests that some rain was falling over the Great Australian Bight near the time the image was acquired.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/29/2025
Resolutions:
1km (3 MB), 500m (6.2 MB),
Bands Used:
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
