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2012 Noctilucent Clouds Are Back -
But Their Origin Is Still Unknown

19 June, 2012

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MessageToEagle.com - The clouds are called noctilucent or "night-shining" clouds (NLCs) and they are a relatively new phenomenon.

Previously, they were only seen over almost exclusively in Earth's polar regions, but they are now also visible in the skies over the United States and Europe and else where. There is no doubt any more. The clouds at the edge of space are spreading.

Data from NASA's AIM spacecraft show that noctilucent clouds (NLCs) are like a great "geophysical light bulb".

They turn on every year in late spring, reaching almost full intensity over a period of no more than 5 to 10 days--and the bulb is glowing.

When noctilucent clouds (NLCs) first appeared in the 19th century, they were a high-latitude phenomenon.

You had to travel toward the poles to see their electric-blue glow. Not anymore.

Just this past weekend, these beautiful, "night-shining" clouds spilled over the Canadian border into the lower United States as far south as Denver, Colorado.

In recent years, a NASA spacecraft called AIM (Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere) has spotted the clouds appearing ever lower in latitudes, but just why is not yet known.

AIM studies the clouds in order to better understand our lower atmosphere and how it is connected to weather and climate.



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In Poland, noctilucent clouds season is the time of young stork births. Thousands of storks (Ciconia ciconia) arrive in Poland each spring. This photo was captured on June 26, 2011. Credit: NASA/Marek Nikodem


The clouds are seasonal, appearing most often in late spring and summer. In the northern hemisphere, the best time to search for these beauties would be between mid-May and the end of August.

"They were visible to the north for about 3 hours as we flew between Ottawa and Newfoundland at 35,000 feet" said Brian Whittaker.



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Flying photographer Brian Whittaker photographed these NLCs over Canada on June 13, 2012. Photo Credits: Brian Whittaker



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Noctilucent clouds, Kuresoo bog, Soomaa National Park, Estonia. Credit: Martin Koitmäe


These electric-blue ice clouds hang 53 miles (85 km) above Earth's surface, at the edge of space itself, circling the north and south pole regions.

The origin of noctilucent clouds is still largely a mystery; various theories associate them with meteoric dust, rocket exhaust, global warming--or some mixture of the three.


Click on image to enlarge

Dave Hughes photographed the NLCs near Edmonton, Alberta Canada on July 2, 2011. Credit: NASA/Dave Hughes


AIM's two-year mission is to study Polar Mesospheric Clouds, the Earth’s highest clouds, which form an icy membrane 50 miles above the surface at the edge of space


Observing tips: NLCs favor high latitudes during the summer months, although they have been sighted as far south as Colorado and Virginia.

Look west 30 to 60 minutes after sunset when the Sun has dipped 6-16 degrees below the horizon. If you see luminous blue-white tendrils spreading across the sky, you may have spotted a noctilucent cloud.

@ MessageToEagle.com

See also:
Geological Rift That Baffles Scientists Is Still Expanding

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