Posted on 01/09/2018 8:18:48 AM PST by Red Badger
NASA’s AIM spacecraft is monitoring a vast ring of electric-blue clouds circling high above Antarctica.
These are noctilucent clouds (NLCs), made of ice crystals frosting specks of “meteor smoke” in the mesosphere 83 km above the frozen continent. Here is an animation from the past week:
This is the season for southern noctilucent clouds. Every year around this time, summertime water vapor billows up into the high atmosphere over Antarctica, providing moisture needed to form icy clouds at the edge of space. Sunlight shining through the high clouds produces an electric-blue glow, which AIM can observe from Earth orbit.
“The current season began on Nov. 19th,” says Cora Randall, a member of the AIM science team at the University of Colorado’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. “Compared to previous years of AIM data, this season seems to be fairly average, but of course one never knows what surprises lie ahead, particularly since the southern hemisphere seasons are so variable.”
The formation of strange clouds in the high atmosphere over remote Antarctica may seem to be of little practical interest–but that would be incorrect. Researchers studying NLCs have discovered unexpected teleconnections between these clouds and weather patterns thousands of miles away. Two years ago, for instance, Randall and colleagues found that the winter air temperature in many northern US cities was well correlated with the frequency of noctilucent clouds over Antarctica. Understanding how these long-distance connections work could improve climate models and weather forecasting–all the more reason to study eerily beautiful NLCs.
Source: NASA Spaceweather.com
No word on the hole in the Ozone ,LOL
Whenever I hear the term “climate models” I grab my wallet and hide under the bed! :-)
“Two years ago, for instance, Randall and colleagues found that the winter air temperature in many northern US cities was well correlated with the frequency of noctilucent clouds over Antarctica. Understanding how these long-distance connections work could improve climate models and weather forecasting–all the more reason to study eerily beautiful NLCs.”
~~~~~~~
...and yet, with all these complex forces and influence in play, the extremely negligible greenhouse properties of CO2 have been elevated way above everything else for the last two+ decades as the primary case of a phenomenon that they can’t seem to predict or accurately model every time their predictions have been evaluated
Didn’t Russia just set off
ff a test that had huge blue light and ground shaking?.
“Understanding how these long-distance connections work could improve climate models...”
Is there ANYTHING more important in life?
I am puzzled, though. Why do the models need to be improved? The science is “settled” and, besides, the models are infinitely elastic and can produce any desired result. Why would a model that can produce any desired result need to be improved?
Winter is extra cold? No problemo! — it’s just Global Warming at work.
Well...............
Great flaming Wolf spiders!!!
Whoa! Far out, man!
Did you get that from the Story about the California guy who set his apartment on fire?..............
If it happens every year at this time how is it "strange"?
Yep.
It’s my new exclamation phrase.
Great flaming Wolf spiders!!!
Does this have anything to do with the strange sky activities in Russia?
Noctilucent clouds over Florida. You can only see these very high clouds before dawn or after dusk.
It has consistently expanded and contracted over the years in parallel with volcanic eruptions high in chlorine.
Only in the Tin Foil Hat Crowd...................
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