To witness auroras and noctilucent clouds at the same time is almost unimaginable!
But Harlan Thomas was lucky enought to see them both appear above Baker Lake, Alberta on June 8, 2015!
Summer auroras are rare, but summer is the season for noctilucent clouds.
NLCs form at the edge of space, when diaphanous wisps of water vapor wrap themselves around meteoroids to form tiny ice crystals. The crystals are so tiny that they scatter blue light – hence the glowing blue color of the clouds. Why summer? Ironically, that is the only time the upper atmosphere is cold enough for these icy clouds to form.
Noctilucent clouds first appeared in the 19th century after the eruption of super-volcano Krakatoa. At the time, people thought NLCs were caused by the eruption, but long after Krakatoa’s ash settled, the clouds remained.
In recent years, noctilucent clouds have intensified and spread with summer sightings as far south as Utah and Colorado. This could be a sign of increasing greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere.
Have you ever seen something like this?
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