At the Edge of Space

High Above the North Pole  (NASA Photo)

At the outermost edge of Earth’s atmosphere is a realm called the mesosphere.  Therein floats “a thin group of electric blue clouds.”

These polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs) are composed mostly “of ice crystals and appear like faint lines in the sky.”  Their electric-blue coloring is due to the sun’s angle at twilight.

NASA has been studying the effects of “gravity waves” on PMCs in order to learn more about upper-atmospheric turbulence.  These gravity waves are actually generated by air-flow disturbances in the lower atmosphere. 

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/world/nasa-balloon-examines-electric-blue-clouds/ar-AAAtiCQ

Copyright September 22, 2018 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved