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06/18/2009


Night-Shining Clouds Encroach on the UK

Nightshiningclouds

Stunning and rare polar weather phenomenon makes an appearance in Britain in June:

"...stunned residents spotted a rare glimpse of the clouds lighting up Leicester's skyline shortly after midnight on Thursday morning. Noctilucent cloud formations are the highest on Earth where temperatures can plunge below -130C (-200F) and winds peak at 300mph. They appear in the mesosphere, which is between 30miles and 50miles above the Earth's surface...Despite the beauty of the clouds, scientists fear the clouds could be a sign of changes in the upper atmosphere because of global warming. 'The clouds are becoming brighter, occurring more frequently with time and they are being observed at lower latitudes than ever before,' an AIM mission expert said."

Posted 12:44 PM EST by Andy Towle in Great Britain, News, weather | Permalink

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  1. I love that you do space, weather, & nature etc. on your blog. You are so good, Andy!

    Posted by: Stephen | Jun 18, 2009 12:49:44 PM


  2. I am confused, is Great Britain that much farther North that they do not have complete darkness at midnight? If they do, then I think there is something wrong with the info in this article. For the time of day looks to be nearing Sunrise to me, not shorlty after midnight.
    Still, a stunning picture.

    Posted by: Crash | Jun 18, 2009 1:05:05 PM


  3. wow, um Crash is it? Yeah, maybe you should read the article? Maybe the reason it looks like dawn is because of the noctilucent clouds? Just sayin'...

    Posted by: ZnSD | Jun 18, 2009 1:27:16 PM


  4. The clouds are so high in the atmosphere that they can reflect sunlight as far south as central UK. If these clouds were not there, you would not see the blue, the yellow, or the orange. It would be pitch black, since the clouds would not be reflecting various colors of light from the near-perpetual days in the north arctic.

    Posted by: RJ | Jun 18, 2009 1:48:02 PM


  5. And yet the world survived another day. How did that happen?

    Posted by: anon | Jun 18, 2009 1:56:43 PM


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