Noctilucent clouds (night shining clouds): blue silvery colored clouds in the upper atmosphere over a dutch lake close to Gouda, Holland.

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Noctilucent clouds (NLC) form in the highest reaches of the atmosphere – the mesosphere – as much as 50 miles (80 km) above the Earth’s surface. They’re are made of ice crystals that form on fine dust particles from meteors. NLC are primarily visible when the sun is just below the horizon, say, from about 90 minutes to about two hours after sunset or before sunrise. At such times, when the sun is below the ground horizon but visible from the high altitude of noctilucent clouds, sunlight illuminates these clouds, causing them to glow in the dark night sky.

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Size: 4000px × 6000px
Location: Gouda, Netherlands
Photo credit: © Menno van der Haven / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

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