Earthshine and Smoking Giant

The new moon with the Earthshine (Earth illuminated night side of the moon). After sunset the crescent moon stands above colorful twilight horizon from the summit of Haleakala, Hawaii. A towering Cumulus cloud in a bizarre form of a smoking giant forms above the cloud layer. It is a Cumulonimbus, a dense towering vertical cloud associated with thunderstorms and atmospheric instability, forming from water vapor carried by powerful upward air currents. Click the second photo for a closer higher contrast view of the scene.