Question: how are different clouds formed?

Katherine Haxton answered on 18 Mar 2012:

Clouds are all formed by the same process – condensation of water vapour in the air in to tiny water droplets or ice crystals that make up the cloud. It’s exactly the same process as breathing out on a cold day and being able to see your breath. Different types of clouds form because of different weather conditions, and at different heights from the earth’s surface. Whether you are near the sea, or near mountains also determines what kinds of clouds will form.
Some kinds of clouds cause a lot of confusion if they form because people think aliens are coming – lenticular clouds (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenticular_cloud) look a bit like space ships from science fiction films.