NASA's AIM Satellite and Models are Unlocking the Secrets of Mysterious 'Night-Shining' Clouds (w/ Video)
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 - 17:35
in Astronomy & Space
(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite has captured five complete polar seasons of noctilucent (NLC) or "night-shining" clouds with an unprecedented horizontal resolution of 3 miles by 3 miles. Results show that the cloud season turns on and off like a "geophysical light bulb" and they reveal evidence that high altitude mesospheric "weather" may follow similar patterns as our ever-changing weather near the Earth's surface. These findings were unveiled today at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union today in San Francisco.