Home
Weather Dublin
WeatherRadar
RainfallRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
    Home / Editor's Pick /

    Noctilucent clouds: Season of the shimmering clouds

07:00
15 June 2024

Noctilucent clouds
Season of the shimmering clouds

Noctilucent clouds
Noctilucent clouds shine in the night sky over Tynemouth Priory and Castle in North Shields. - © picture alliance

Bright, shimmering noctilucent clouds illuminate the skies each year, with a season spanning from June to August.

Known as noctilucent clouds, these rare clouds form around 50 miles above Earth's surface in the mesosphere during summer months.

The unusual display of blue and silver ribbon clouds can keep the evening sky bright hours after the Sun has set.

It is not known for sure how these clouds form, although we know that they shine thanks to the Sun's light illuminating ice crystals from beyond the horizon.

Changing names

These clouds are known as noctilucent clouds on the ground, but when viewed from space become polar mesospheric clouds.

These crystals reflect the light onto dust particles in the mesosphere, where temperatures reach -134°C.

Best viewed when the Sun has just set below the horizon, 90 minutes after sunset, the clouds are most likely to appear between June and August for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere.

If you spot any bright, shining clouds at night in the coming months, show them off via the uploader and dodge any poor weather with the WeatherRadar!

Make the most of your WeatherRadarread more
Ryan Hathaway
More on the topic
Typhoon warning for China. Up to 500 mm of rain. . . Friday 24 July 2026
Weather map of the southern Chinese coast and Taiwan showing a powerful tropical cyclone. The eye of the storm is located near the coastal city of Shantou in the Chinese province of Guangdong. Around the centre, intense shades of red, pink and violet indicate gale-force winds, whilst a large orange wind field extends as far as the west coast of Taiwan. An overlaid windsack warning sign indicates dangerous storm winds. Cities such as Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Taipei and Taichung are shown, as are wind speeds and white flow lines illustrating the cyclonic air circulation.
Friday 24 July 2026

Up to 500 mm of rain

Typhoon warning for China
Catastrophic forest fires in Europe. Thousands evacuated. . Weather Videos. Monday 27 July 2026
A composite image showing a temperature map of south-western Europe and a drone shot of a forest fire near Cap Ferret. A warning symbol featuring a flame indicates the increased risk of forest fires.
Weather VideosMonday 27 July 2026

Thousands evacuated

Catastrophic forest fires in Europe
Clouds return to capture the scene. Your weather - Your shots. . . Sunday 26 July 2026
Waxing crescent Moon above vivid pink and magenta sunset clouds, with silhouetted trees along the horizon beneath a deepening blue twilight sky.
Sunday 26 July 2026

Your weather - Your shots

Clouds return to capture the scene
All weather news
This might also interest you
Seasonal warmth between spring thunder. Your weather - Your shots. . . Sunday 19 April 2026
Split image showing coastal sunset with layered lenticular clouds over rooftops and palm trees on the left, and a green valley with river and hills under soft daylight on the right.
Sunday 19 April 2026

Your weather - Your shots

Seasonal warmth between spring thunder
Flooding, gales, and heavy snow. Storm Chandra. . . Tuesday 27 January 2026
Split image showing aerial flooding in a town with muddy water covering roads on the left, and a rural road on the right blocked by heavy snowfall with vans stopped and a person walking in snow.
Tuesday 27 January 2026

Storm Chandra

Flooding, gales, and heavy snow
Turbulent weather in the Canary Islands. Storm and rain. . . Friday 12 December 2025
Weather graphic showing rain and wind fields over the Canary Islands and a central warning symbol.
Friday 12 December 2025

Storm and rain

Turbulent weather in the Canary Islands
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwitteryouTubelinkList