10 Things You Have To Look Up To Believe

Every summer, wonder takes to the skies. Check out these moments of natural magic inspired by Pepsi NEXT—drink it to believe it.

1. Kelvin-Helmholz Clouds

en.wikipedia.org

Referred to as "the oil and vinegar" of clouds, two clouds of different densities collide to form cartoon-like waves—this happens because the lighter part is whipped upwards while the denser part is stuck at a slower speed.

2. The Rings of Saturn

sarabam0712.tumblr.com

As of this summer, Saturn and Earth will be closer in distance than ever as they travel in their own dedicated orbits around the sun. Beginning around 10pm every night, the planet can be seen with the naked eye—just look toward the fainter stars of the southeast skies.

3. Supermoon

smith_cl9 / Via Flickr: 24415055@N00

On June 23, the moon is at its largest and closest proximity to the Earth for the entire year. Coincidentally, it moves to its farthest place from Earth for the entire year a mere two weeks later.

4. Perseids Meteor Shower

aresauburnâ„¢ / Via Flickr: aresauburnphotos

On August 12-13, a half-moon will make way for a perfectly dark sky, which will then be lit up by "raining stars" for up to 60 meteors per hour.

5. Lenticular Clouds

Don Ryan / AP

These crazy clouds (often confused for UFOs!) are shaped like convex lenses, forming only at high altitudes—like this one over Mount Hood in Washington.

6. Albiero - The Binary Star System

commons.wikimedia.org

Situated on the Northern Cross, along the plane of the Milky Way, two bright stars on the Cygnus (swan-shaped) constellation are regarded as one—a binary star. The bright duo can be seen with the naked eye, but checking it out with a telescope will reveal one is bright yellow, while the other is bright blue.

7. Mammatus Clouds

skellig2008 / Via Flickr: 15546071@N04

These cotton-like symmetrical puffs appear after quick, severe thunderstorms—AKA your typical summer evening in humid locales.

8. Coathanger Cluster

thebadastronomer / Via Flickr: badastronomy

Also known as Brocchi's Cluster (for the astronomer that first officially charted it), this line of 30 stars spreads over the sky at a length almost double the diameter of a full moon. To the naked eye, it's a significant patch of light—but with binoculars, the stars take their "fashionable" shape.

9. Roll Clouds

commons.wikimedia.org

These looming gigantic tubes form when cold fronts collide through warm gust fronts of air, lifting and condensing the cloud to be contained in its own "updraft."

10. Manhattanhenge

gri sha / Via Flickr: grishal

Every summer on two special days spaced out from the summer solstice, the sun is in perfect linear alignment across the east- to west-laid streets of Manhattan—peering through tall buildings without obstruction. The next one will occur and flood your Instagram feeds on July 12.