Noctilucent Cloud Animation
Because of their high altitude, near the edge of space, noctilucent clouds shine at night when the Sun's rays hit them from below while the lower atmosphere is bathed in darkness. Also known as Polar Mesospheric Clouds or PMCs, they typically form in the cold, summer polar mesosphere and are made of water ice crystals. In April 2007 the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) Mission was launched with the express purpose of studying noctilucent clouds.
Because of their high altitude, near the edge of space, noctilucent clouds shine at night when the Sun's rays hit them from below while the lower atmosphere is bathed in darkness. Also known as Polar Mesospheric Clouds or PMCs, they typically form in the cold, summer polar mesosphere and are made of water ice crystals. In April 2007 the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) Mission was launched with the express purpose of studying noctilucent clouds.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
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Animator
- Susan Twardy (HTSI)
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Scientist
- Mike Stevens (NRL)
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Writer
- Michael McClare (HTSI)
Release date
This page was originally published on Tuesday, November 4, 2003.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:56 PM EDT.