News Earth

To understand how ‘night-shining’ clouds form, scientists made one themselves

A high-altitude explosion shows how water vapor can cool air to rapidly form ice crystals

noctilucent cloud as seen from International Space Station

Noctilucent clouds (seen here from the International Space Station) shimmer high in the dark sky after sunset, when sunlight from beyond the horizon illuminates ice crystals in the upper atmosphere.

International Space Station, NASA’s Johnson Space Center

By Maria Temming

- More than 2 years ago

NASA’s Super Soaker mission was basically an extreme DIY project: To better understand how noctilucent, or night-shining clouds form, researchers made one from scratch.