Ok, I'm kidding, but this cloud formation does look evocative.

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Conscious reasoning is an attempt to justify the choice after it has been made.

Pretty neat. Id imagine a chemical release might explain it, but they said that was ruled out. Very evocative, however surely a terrestrial explanation exists.

Of course ... certainly there must be some unknown prosaic explanation!

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"Where the telescope ends, the microscope begins. Which of the two has the greater view?" - Hugo

"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." - Churchill

No reason to over think this...it's obviously a cloud. An unusual one, yes, but just a cloud.

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"The facts gentlemen, and nothing but the facts, for careful eyes are narrowly watching." Isaac Asimov

It appears to be a hole-punch or punch-hole cloud, a circular distrail, in a layer of altostratus. http://www.shadowresearch.com/HolePu...punch20082.jpg
http://www.wkrg.com/weather/article_...h_clouds/4097/
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New Orion's Arm Site . The Starlark . Against a Diamond Sky (OA Novella Collection) . OA Flickr set

yep. that what I meant to say.

It's a "fall-streak hole" also known as a "hole punch cloud" as some above have mentioned. It's a fairly rare phenomena, but not unheard of. Well, actually the phenomena is not rare, but it's rare for it to be that visually dramatic, although it does happen occasionally.

Basically it happens when there is water in suspension that drops in temperature to bellow freezing but remains suspended because the droplets have not found dust particles or anything else to form a nucleus of an ice particle and the whole thing is stable but right at the tipping point.

Eventually the water does start freeze and this tips it and causes a chain reaction that makes the water around it freeze and then fall to earth. It's common, only occasionally do you get that dramatic and hard-edged a pattern that is circular like that.

It can get that halo effect from the surrounding water vapor partially condensing. Over time some additional water vapor may go into it and that can give it a haze..

Then you have the sunlight and all those other factors that can make it look more weird.

I've seen fall-streak holes, but they're usually pretty mundane and hard to even notice. I've never seen one this cool looking.

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Depleted Cranium - The Bad Science Blog

I don't want to be a stick in the mud, but I've been sifting through images of "hole punch" clouds (aircraft are what punch the holes, btw) and I've yet to see one illuminated as is the one in the OP.

It'd be great if when these things happen, those who video do so until the thing is dissipated or their batteries run out.

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"Where the telescope ends, the microscope begins. Which of the two has the greater view?" - Hugo

"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." - Churchill

This seems to be a punch through the altostratus layer, a layer which shows dramatic lighting effects near sunset or sunrise. So combined with the angle of the sun, it is a little unusual.

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New Orion's Arm Site . The Starlark . Against a Diamond Sky (OA Novella Collection) . OA Flickr set

Unusual?, yes...alien?, obviously not...

Once it was established that it was a cloud, further speculation became unnecessary.

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"The facts gentlemen, and nothing but the facts, for careful eyes are narrowly watching." Isaac Asimov

To say the least.
The way that thing is illumined I've much difficulty thinking the sun is at a low angle (sunset/sunrise).

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"Where the telescope ends, the microscope begins. Which of the two has the greater view?" - Hugo

"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." - Churchill

Fascinating, you've seen alien?
If not, how do you know?

I certainly agree it looks like a weirdly illuminated hole punch cloud but I'm not sure "it has been established."

Even still, were it established as such I'd still find it necessary for scientists to speculate on what might've caused it.

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"Where the telescope ends, the microscope begins. Which of the two has the greater view?" - Hugo

"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." - Churchill

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/2009101...08599193082200

A possible explanation.

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Looks like fodder for contrail CT's and those who think Katrina was "controlled."

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"Where the telescope ends, the microscope begins. Which of the two has the greater view?" - Hugo

"Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." - Churchill