MAARSY RADARS SHOWING STRONG SIGNALS TODAY. SURELY IT CAN'T BE TOO LONG UNTIL WE ARE TREATED TO OUR FIRST NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS DISPLAY OF THE SEASON! 😍💙
So we are on countdown to the first confirmed noctilucent clouds (NLC) display of the season.
The MAARSY (and Oswin) radars that are often a good indicator of the possibility of seeing NLC, are beginning to show strong signals. These signals may mean that we might see these beautiful clouds appear over the UK any day now, so if you have clear skies anywhere from the North West to North East horizon, it's worth looking for them.
WHAT ARE NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS?
As mentioned in our Noctilucent Clouds post the other day (link here) these clouds are special in that they only appear in the late spring/summer months. They are very beautiful, wispy, lacey clouds that appear to be shimmering in the nights sky. Made up of ice crystals and formed high in the upper atmosphere, they are in fact the highest clouds on Earth. They begin to become visible during astronomical twilight when they reflect/are illuminated by the sunlight from beneath the Horizon.
A good time to look for them is an hour or two before sunrise or an hour or two after sunset. No special equipment is required to see these special clouds either, one’s eyes will do just fine.
It is always so exciting and memorable to witness this beautiful phenomena. We've been hooked ever since the first time we witnessed them.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS?
If you would like to learn more about the beautiful natural phenomena known as Noctilucent Clouds, please take a look at our previous post.
CLOSING WORDS FROM ASTRO DOG
Whilst there is no way to 100 percent accurately predict these beautiful clouds, we will do our best to let you know if they are likely to be seen or if they are visible here on Astro Dog.