September 2, 2008
night-shining clouds
Night-shining clouds have been discovered high above the earth’s atmosphere.
The noctilucent or “night-shining” clouds are at an altitude of 47 to 53 miles (76 to 85 km), where meteors and bright aurora lights are not uncommon and the atmosphere gives way to the blackness of space. The clouds remain a scientifically baffling phenomenon more than 120 years after their discovery.
“It’s lovely,” said Gary Thomas, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Colorado after looking at a photo taken from the space station. “And it shows just how high these clouds really are at the very edge of space.”
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