Japan’s weather satellite captured a stunning view of glowing noctilucent clouds at night. (Photo: JAXA)
JAKARTA – The best natural phenomena are always presented from outer space. Japan’s weather satellite captured a stunning view of glowing noctilucent clouds at night.
Forbes reported, Saturday (27/1/2024) that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) manages an X account dedicated to satellite images and data. NOAA shared a video awan noctilucent seen by the Himawari 9 satellite on January 17 2024.
The video shows the curvature of the Earth against the darkness of space with Antarctica below it. Regular clouds appear lower in the image. The shining clouds of the night rose high like scaly ghosts. “Composed of ice crystals, these wispy, wavy, blue-white clouds are best visible at dusk in polar latitudes. They form at an altitude of about 50-60 miles above the Earth’s surface,” NOAA wrote.
This phenomenon is seen in the development of noctilucent clouds when ice crystals form on top of the particles.
Glowing clouds at night can be found elsewhere in the solar system. NASA’s Curiosity rover spotted clouds filled with ice crystals on Mars in 2021. The difference was visible when Mars’ high, cloud-covered clouds most likely consisted of frozen carbon dioxide like dry ice on Earth.
“Viewed just after sunset, their ice crystals catch the fading light, causing them to appear to glow against the darkening sky,” NASA wrote.
Glowing clouds at night are a rare thing. They are most commonly seen in polar regions, but have been seen elsewhere. NASA traces written descriptions of noctilucent clouds back to the late 1800s, several years after the eruption of Indonesia’s Krakatoa volcano spewed ash into the atmosphere.
“At first people thought it was a side effect of the volcano, but after Krakatoa’s ash settled, the glowing scaly cloud remained,” NASA said.
2024-01-27 14:27:49
#Rare #Glowing #Cloud #Phenomenon #Night
