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Credit & Copyright: Bertrand Kulik
Explanation:
It's northern noctilucent cloud season.
Composed of small ice crystals forming only during
specific conditions in the upper atmosphere,
noctilucent clouds
may become visible at sunset during late summer when
illuminated by sunlight from below.
Noctilucent clouds are the
highest
clouds known
and now established to be
polar mesospheric clouds observed from the ground.
Although observed with NASA's
AIM satellite since 2007, much about
noctilucent clouds remains unknown and so a
topic of active research.
The featured image shows expansive and rippled
noctilucent
clouds wafting over
Paris,
France.
This year,
several northern locations are already
reporting especially
vivid displays of noctilucent clouds.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: noctilucent clouds
Publications with words: noctilucent clouds
See also: