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Noctilucent clouds are illuminated by sunlight just after the Sun has set below the horizon
From the collection of NASA Image and Video Library. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
iss074e0784418 (June 29, 2026) --- Noctilucent clouds—polar mesospheric clouds illuminated by sunlight just after the Sun has set below the horizon—are pictured from the International Space Station as it orbited 264 miles above northwest China. These high-altitude clouds are more easily seen from space than from the ground and form when extremely low temperatures freeze water vapor in the mesosphere during summer months at high latitudes.
NASA Image and Video Library’s own descriptionCredit lineNoctilucent clouds are illuminated by sunlight just after the Sun has set below the horizon. NASA/JSC, 2026-06-29. Public domain. ID: iss074e0784418.
