Strange Skies
S


Bizarro Earth

Noctilucent Clouds Invade the USA


Space Weather
Sat, 02 Jul 2011 13:54 UTC
Last night, a bank of rippling electric-blue noctilucent clouds spilled across the Canadian border into the lower United States. In doing so, the clouds made their farthest excursion of the year away from the Arctic, their usual environment. "These were the most brilliant NLCs I have ever witnessed!" reports Steven Rosenow, who sends this picture from Washington state:

Noctilucent Cloud
© Steven Rosenow
"I took my camera to a spot along Washington's Hood Canal for a panoramic view," says Rosenow. "It was a visually stunning display that stretched as far as the eye could see." NLC reports are also coming in from Oregon, Montana, South Dakota, and Minnesota, and in Europe as far south as Belgium and France. (Stay tuned for updates.)

Back in the 19th century, these mysterious clouds were confined to polar regions. In recent years, however, NLCs have spread toward the equator, appearing in places such as Utah, Colorado, and perhaps even Virginia. Is this a sign of climate change? Some researchers think so. Sky watchers at all latitudes are encouraged to be alert for electric blue just after sunset or before sunrise; observing tips may be found in the 2011 NLC gallery.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Stunning Noctilucent Clouds Shine Brightly in the UK

Nancy Atkinson
Universe Today
Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:37 UTC
Noctilucent Clouds_1
© Stu AtkinsonPanoramic view of Noctilucent Clouds from Kendal Castle in the UK.
Mysterious "night shining" or Noctilucent Clouds are beautiful to behold, and here are some gorgeous examples what skywatchers in the UK have been experiencing. Stu Atkinson took this stunning panoramic view from Kendal Castle. (Click image for access to a larger version). NLCs are usually seen during the summertime, appearing at sunset. They are thin, wavy ice clouds that form at very high altitudes and reflect sunlight long after the Sun has dropped below the horizon. Scientists don't know exactly why they form, and they seem to be appearing more and more in recent times.

Science writer Will Gater also had a great view of NLCs this morning. Click here to see his animation, or see more of his images and animations at his website post.

Noctilucent Clouds_2
© Will GaterNLCs seen over the UK on July 1, 2011.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

Noctilucent Clouds Over Europe


SpaceWeather
Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:09 UTC
The 2011 noctilucent cloud (NLC) season has begun. For the past few nights, observers across northern Europe have spotted velvety, electric-blue tendrils rippling across the sunset sky. John Houghton sends this picture from Newtown Linford, Leicester, UK:

Noctilucent Clouds
© John HoughtonImage Taken: May 31, 2011
Location: Newtown Linford, Leicester, UK
"This was the best display of noctilucent clouds I've seen to date," he says. "It was visible even before sunset."

NLCs are a summertime phenomenon. In the upper atmosphere, 80+ km high at the edge of space itself, tiny ice crystals nucleate around microscopic meteoroids and other aerosols; when the crystals catch the rays of the setting sun, they glow electric blue. Ironically, these highest and coldest of clouds form during the warmest months on the ground.
Read More...
Sun

Halo around the sun Friday

Judy Swenson
MonteNews
Fri, 06 May 2011 14:41 UTC
halo,sun

Friday afternoon from about noon to 1 p.m. some folks in west central Minnesota looked up in the sky and saw a mysterious halo around the sun.

"What does it mean?" observers inquired.

"It's an angel," one person commented.

"Nah, it's some scientific thing," said another.

"I think it's God," declared another.
Read More...
Sun

Sun Haloes


Space Weather
Sat, 07 May 2011 14:11 UTC
Yesterday in Belgium, sky watchers were stunned when they witnessed a heavenly apparition in broad daylight. "It was one of the brightest and most complex displays of sun haloes I have seen in 25 years of observing," reports Philippe Mollet, who took this picture:

Sun Halo
© Philippe MolletImage Taken: May 6, 2011
Location: Meise/Grimbergen, Belgium
"The phenomenon lasted for more than 30 minutes, long enough to phone and e-mail many friends and colleagues," he adds. "[It looks like] this was observed over a large part of our (little) country."

Sun haloes are caused by ice crystals in high clouds. "This wonderfully bright display proves that you do not need to be in polar regions to see them," notes atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley. "Temperatures in 3 to 6 mile high cirrus are more than cold enough to make the needed hexagonal prism shaped ice crystals. There are two sets of halos, those nearest the sun are made by rays that pass between crystal faces inclined at 60 degrees. The outer halos with widely separated colors are from faces inclined at 90 degrees. See the labeled image for halo names. The huge colourful halo is a supralateral arc. This halo is often very hard to distinguish from the much less common 46 degree circular halo but there are several clues to look for to tell them apart."
Read More...
Sun

Not rare anymore! India: Beholding Sun god with halo around


The Times of India
Sat, 09 Apr 2011 11:07 UTC
Image
© APThis photo of a sun halo viewed from behind a street lamp was actually taken in Kolkata on July 5, 2010.
On Friday morning, residents of the city and its suburbs witnessed a natural phenomenon around 11.15 am. A beautiful, bright halo was seen around the sun, forming a perfect circular ring. The rare sighting triggered intense excitement as word on the celestial wonder spread. The ring lasted about an hour, after which it gradually faded away.

According to MP Birla Planetarium director (research & academic) Debiprosad Duari, the angular distance between the sun and the ring was almost 22'. "This celestial feature, that is sometimes known as 22' halo of the sun, occurs due to refraction of light against ice-crystals present in the thin wisp-like strands of clouds in the sky," he said.

Comment: "Rare" sun halos appear to be on increase, lately. And there is a "dustier" reason for it than shiny ice crystals. Take a look at the following articles:

Have You Seen a Sun Halo in Your Area? North Carolina, US: Solar halo continues this afternoon...
Are Ice Crystals Really to Blame? US: Halo Appears Around The Sun Over The Central Savannah River Area
Build-up of cosmic material in the atmosphere? Indonesia: Mysterious halo around the sun sets people wondering
Spectacular sundogs and ice halo seen from Stockholm
Ghana: Halo Appears Around Sun
Swaziland: Panic Over Sun's Strange Appearance
Mysterious Sun Haloes

Our hypothesis is, that the sun is being refracted by the changed atmosphere. That is, a combination of possible comet dust loading and changes in the layers of the atmosphere.

Read More...
Sun

Have You Seen a Sun Halo in Your Area? North Carolina, US: Solar halo continues this afternoon...

Johnny Horne
Fay Observer
Thu, 14 Apr 2011 11:24 UTC
That solar halo that was hanging overhead when I went to lunch today is still there at 4:40 PM and the prospects for it being with us until around sunset are pretty good.

The high cirrus clouds, made up largely of ice crystals are streaming in from the west this afternoon. The ice in the clouds creates the ring around the sun as sunlight is bent when it passes through the crystals.

sun halo
© Johnny Horne

Comment: "Rare" sun halos appear to be on increase, lately. And there is a "dustier" reason for it than shiny ice crystals. Take a look at the following articles:

Are Ice Crystals Really to Blame? US: Halo Appears Around The Sun Over The Central Savannah River Area
Build-up of cosmic material in the atmosphere? Indonesia: Mysterious halo around the sun sets people wondering
Not rare anymore! India: Beholding Sun god with halo around
Spectacular sundogs and ice halo seen from Stockholm
Ghana: Halo Appears Around Sun
Swaziland: Panic Over Sun's Strange Appearance
Mysterious Sun Haloes

Our hypothesis is, that the sun is being refracted by the changed atmosphere. That is, a combination of possible comet dust loading and changes in the layers of the atmosphere.

Read More...
Sun

Build-up of cosmic material in the atmosphere? Indonesia: Mysterious halo around the sun sets people wondering

Jane Moh
Borneo Post Online
Fri, 15 Apr 2011 15:39 UTC
The sky made heads turn upwards yesterday, on the eve of the polling day when a halo formed an outer ring of the sun, radiating the rainbow colours.

The 30-minute display, starting from 11.30am sparked a discussion among the people why it had to appear as the polling day was approaching.

sun halo
© Unknown

Comment: "Rare" sun halos appear to be on increase, lately. And there is a "dustier" reason for it than shiny ice crystals. Take a look at the following articles:

Have You Seen a Sun Halo in Your Area? North Carolina, US: Solar halo continues this afternoon...
Are Ice Crystals Really to Blame? US: Halo Appears Around The Sun Over The Central Savannah River Area
Not rare anymore! India: Beholding Sun god with halo around
Spectacular sundogs and ice halo seen from Stockholm
Ghana: Halo Appears Around Sun
Swaziland: Panic Over Sun's Strange Appearance
Mysterious Sun Haloes

Our hypothesis is, that the sun is being refracted by the changed atmosphere. That is, a combination of possible comet dust loading and changes in the layers of the atmosphere.

Read More...
Sun

Ghana: Halo Appears Around Sun


Africa News
Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:34 UTC

Ghanaians were held spellbound when the halo phenomenon emerged in the skies late Wednesday morning. Hundreds of people stepped out of their offices to take pictures of the celestial wonders. Onlookers believed it was signs of the last days. "Jesus is coming today," fascinated Victoria Mintah told AfricaNews.

However, meteorologists said the phenomenon known as halo phenomenon is natural around the world.
Read More...
Magic Wand

Best of the Web: The Shiny Harbingers of Change, More Frequent and Brighter: Mysterious Noctilucent Clouds As Seen from Space

Nancy Atkinson
Universe Today
Wed, 09 Feb 2011 06:31 UTC
Mysterious "night shining" or noctilucent clouds are beautiful to behold, and are usually seen during the summertime, appearing at sunset. They are thin, wavy ice clouds that form at very high altitudes and reflect sunlight long after the Sun has dropped below the horizon. Scientists don't know exactly why they form, but continue to observe them - both from Earth and from space. These images were taken by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA's Aura satellite.

Image
© NASPolar mesospheric clouds (PMCs) observed by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on the Aura satellite. Maps by Robert Simmon
Also called polar mesospheric clouds, they are puzzling scientists with their recent dramatic changes. They used to be considered rare, but now the clouds are growing brighter, are seen more frequently, are visible at lower and lower latitudes than ever before, and - as these satellite image reveal - they are now even appearing during the day.

Comment: The article mentions Matthew DeLand's measurements of a long-term trend towards more and brighter noctilucent clouds linking to rising greenhouse gases. And we would like to clarify, just in case there is anyone left who's not been paying attention, that it has nothing to do with Global Warming.

What we suspect has really been happening, based on our research thus far, is that the upper atmosphere is cooling because it is being loaded with comet dust, which shows up in the form of noctilucent clouds and other upper atmospheric formations. The comet dust is electrically charged which is causing the earth's rotation to slow marginally. The slowing of the rotation is reducing the magnetic field, opening earth to more dangerous cosmic radiation and stimulating more volcanism. The volcanism under the sea is heating the sea water which is heating the lower atmosphere and loading it with moisture. The moisture hits the cooler upper atmosphere and contributes to a deadly mix that inevitably leads to an Ice Age, preceded for a short period by a rapid increase of greenhouse gases and "hot pockets" in the lower atmosphere, heavy rains, hail, snow, and floods.

Expect this trend to continue but don't believe in "man-made Global Warming". Whatever warming there has been, it's really a prelude to the way Ice Ages begin. Let's hope that there aren't any catastrophically large chunks in that stream of comet dust cycling through our solar system.

Read More...