Earth  ID: 20002

Noctilucent Cloud Animation

Animations by Susan Twardy Released on November 4, 2003
Because of their high altitude, near the edge of space, noctilucent clouds shine at night when the Sun's rays hit them from below while the lower atmosphere is bathed in darkness. Also known as Polar Mesospheric Clouds or PMCs, they typically form in the cold, summer polar mesosphere and are made of water ice crystals. In April 2007 the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) Mission was launched with the express purpose of studying noctilucent clouds.
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Because of their high altitude, near the edge of space, noctilucent clouds shine at night when the Sun's rays hit them from below while the lower atmosphere is bathed in darkness. Also known as Polar Mesospheric Clouds or PMCs, they typically form in the cold, summer polar mesosphere and are made of water ice crystals. In April 2007 the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) Mission was launched with the express purpose of studying noctilucent clouds.

Animation Credits

Susan Twardy (HTSI): Lead Animator
Mike Stevens (NRL): Scientist
Michael McClare (HTSI): Writer
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20002

Mission:
AIM

Goddard TV Tape:
G2003-013

Keywords:
SVS >> Byrne
SVS >> Clouds
SVS >> Gonnelli
SVS >> Shuttle
GCMD >> Location >> Polar
GCMD >> Location >> Mesosphere
SVS >> AIM
SVS >> Noctilucent Clouds
NASA Science >> Earth

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0