The Best Noctilucent Clouds So Far This Year.

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Aratus Great Britain
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The Best Noctilucent Clouds So Far This Year.

#1

Post by Aratus »


On the evening of the 11th July at around 11:30pm local time I observed the electric blue glow of Noctilucent cloulds on the north. There are large trees in the middle distance, and the obligatory street light, but this was a very extensive display stretching around 70 degrees of the horizon, and 15 degrees above the horizon. There were wave patterns in every orientation, and various wavelengths. There were no thick bright structures, or their assocated shadows on this occasion. There was some cross-hatching, but no circular ripples.
The display gradually faded from the east, but was still visible long after local midnight.
Optimum exposure seemed to be around 15s. Any longer and movement of the clouds softened the photo.

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I also used a telephoto lens for some close up of the intricate detail.

Image

Noctilucent clouds are a fascinating binocular object too.
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Re: The Best Noctilucent Clouds So Far This Year.

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Looking at more detail photos, I thought that this one might show a circular ripple, but it is more of a fold. It is notable anyway. The 2 stars are Capella and Pi Aurigae.
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Re: The Best Noctilucent Clouds So Far This Year.

#3

Post by Graeme1858 »


You've caught some great Noctilucent images there. I've been looking out of the bedroom window every night, plenty of clouds, all of them dark!

Regards

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Re: The Best Noctilucent Clouds So Far This Year.

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It has become a sort of routine. I check about 10:30pm and then at 11:30pm every night. I have seen them twice this year in about 70 days. I am thinking of setting up a camera looking at the northern sky in much the same way as I have an 'All Sky Camera' checking if the sky is clear or not. The ASC is not much use for noctilucent clouds as noctilucents only show up to about 15 degrees from the horizon. On the ASC which shows 180 degrees, that hardly registers.

If folk are not familiar with noctilucent clouds, they are supposed by some to be frost encrusted meteor dust at very low temperatures, and are located about 50 miles high. What forms the waves and ripples is uncertain. Noctilucent clouds mostly occur at latitudes between 50 and 70 degrees from about 90 mins after sunset. There are, it seems, no scientific reports of noctilucent clouds before 1885. Although still relatively rare, their appearances each year seem to be increasing. (or more people are looking!)

On this occasion the clouds were moving from right to left at about 1 degree/ minute
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Re: The Best Noctilucent Clouds So Far This Year.

#5

Post by bladekeeper »


These are beautiful images, Aratus!
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Re: The Best Noctilucent Clouds So Far This Year.

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Post by Aratus »


Noctilucent clouds are jaw dropping, Bladekeeper. It doesn't take much imagination to see these as the ripples on the top of an ocean of air. We are the bottom dwellers of the earth looking up!
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Re: The Best Noctilucent Clouds So Far This Year.

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Post by MartinF »


Some of the finer NLC I´ve seen! Great catch!
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Re: The Best Noctilucent Clouds So Far This Year.

#8

Post by Kanadalainen »


Beautiful images. Thanks for posting.
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Re: The Best Noctilucent Clouds So Far This Year.

#9

Post by Juno16 »


Aratus,

Your images are magnificent!

I really love look at clouds and your images are of a type of cloud that I am not familiar with.

Thanks for sharing your fine images.

Jim
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