Feeling stressed? Take a look at this oddly calming photo of wave-shaped clouds
A photo taken of a rare cloud formation is making waves on social media.
The picture, posted on Facebook by Amy Christie Hunter, shows a pattern of clouds across the sky that look like waves breaking in the ocean.
The billowing clouds, spotted in Virginia, are known as Kevin-Helmholtz clouds.
“Very cool clouds rolling over Smith Mountain this evening,” Hunter said in her post on Tuesday. “I sent the photo to our local news station and the meteorologist replied to me saying they are very rare and usually not this defined.”
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The unusually calming formation occurs when upper-level air moves at a faster speed than lower-level air. The faster-moving layer then scoops the top of a cloud into “wave-like rolling shapes,” according to the Met Office in the U.K.
These clouds occur above 16,500 feet in the air and usually appear during windy days, which means they’re a good indication of airplane turbulence.
It's widely believed that Kevin-Helmholtz clouds are what's depicted in Vincent van Gogh's well-known masterpiece "Starry Night," according to EarthSky.
Other studies have been able to pinpoint cloud formations in other famous paintings, including Edvard Munch's iconic "The Scream," which may have been inspired by nacreous or "mother-of-pearl" clouds.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Feeling stressed? Take a look at this oddly calming photo of wave-shaped clouds
