The Secrets Of Noctilucent Clouds
Noctilucent clouds shine at night
The season for noctilucent clouds at northerly latitudes has begun for 2021! Every year – from about May through August in the Northern Hemisphere, and from November through February in the Southern Hemisphere – people at high latitudes report seeing noctilucent or night-shining clouds. They are, very simply, clouds that shine at night. And they are beautiful.
In recent years, northern summertime noctilucent clouds have set records for low-latitude sightings. In 2019, for example, people observed them as far south as Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Usually, though, they’re seen from higher latitudes. 2021 might be a good year for noctilucent clouds, according to Spaceweather.com, which said as early as May 28, 2021, that:
The reason may be extra water in the mesosphere [about 30 to 50 miles, or 50 to 85 km, above Earth’s surface]. NASA satellite data show that 2021 is one of the wettest years since 2007.
Over the past week (around mid-June 2021), there’ve been many sightings of noctilucent clouds from latitudes like those in the northern U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Europe (including France and the Netherlands), as reported by Spaceweather.com and on the excellent Facebook page Noctilucent Clouds Around the World.
Right about now – mid-June to July – is typically when noctilucent clouds are most widespread.
https://earthsky.org/earth/night-shining-clouds-noctilucent-clouds-how-they-form-how-to-see-them/?
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