jetcloud: A SATELLITE LAUNCHED YESTERDAY TO LOOK AT THE MOST MYSTERIOUS CLOUDS

Thursday, April 26, 2007

A SATELLITE LAUNCHED YESTERDAY TO LOOK AT THE MOST MYSTERIOUS CLOUDS

A SATELLITE LAUNCHED YESTERDAY TO LOOK AT THE MOST MYSTERIOUS CLOUDS

Noctilucent clouds form much, much higher than any other clouds and they
shine brightly against the night sky well after the sun has set. While those
may sound like good enough reasons for NASA to send up a satellite to look
at these clouds, there are in fact more pressing reasons why scientists want
to observe them...

clipped from www.cloudappreciationsociety.org

You can't look around when you're looking up,
so we've had a look around for you

We know very little about how and why Noctilucent clouds form and scientists are keen to find out more since. Traditionally seen only towards the poles, they are now being observed at lower latitudes and more frequently than ever before. This has led some scientists to speculate that they are indicators of global climate change. Hence the AIM satellite mission.