Rare noctilucent clouds seen over Armagh
Tuesday, June 24, 2014 - 07:30
in Astronomy & Space
Rare noctilucent or "night shining" clouds were observed over Armagh on the night of 19th/20th June. These silvery, highly structured clouds take many forms, ranging from delicate feather structures to streamers, ripples and waves, and are only seen occasionally, always after dark, during the summer months May to August. Scientists believe that they are caused by sunlight reflecting off tiny ice crystals in the mesosphere, a region of the Earth's atmosphere lying high above the stratosphere, at a height of around 80 kilometres.