Known as Von Karman vortices after the Hungarian scientist who first mathematically described them, these swirling patterns in the clouds driven by the northerly wind coming off Guadalupe Island near Baja California have been frequently photographed by shuttle astronauts. Here both clockwise and counterclockwise spirals are creating a pattern that looks something like a plait. In this photograph, an additional gyre can be seen developing in response to the jutting coastline of Baja California to the right of the frame.

STS 41-D, August-September 1984. Picture #14-37-072.

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