Noctilucent Sky
August 05, 2004
Provided and copyright by: Andre Mueller
Summary authors & editors: Andre Mueller; Jim Foster
The above photo showing majestic noctilucent clouds hugging the western horizon was taken on July 7, 2004 from Aachen, Germany (51°N latitude, 6°E longitude). It was stitched together from three single digital images. About one and a half hours after sunset, this magnificent display of noctilucent clouds became visible -- one of the most impressive I've ever seen. These nighttime clouds for the most part reside at high latitudes, form at very high altitudes (80 plus km) and are believed to consist of ice covered particles, possibly meteoritic dust. In the Northern Hemisphere, noctilucent cloud season typically reaches its peak in June and July.
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