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"Night Shining" Clouds Getting Brighter at Lower Latitudes
Appearing after sunset, these clouds are high enough in the atmosphere that the sun still hits them, even though it's dark on the ground.
"These clouds exist literally on the edge of space," said James Russell, principal investigator for NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite, adding that the clouds form only in a very narrow band a little more than 50 miles (80 kilometers) above Earth's surface.
According to a report in National Geographic News, once seen mostly in the Arctic, night-shining clouds are now appearing more frequently at lower latitudes.
Scientists suspect that the increase in night-shining clouds may be due to climate change.
Even as surface temperatures rise, the upper atmosphere is getting colder due to the buildup of carbon dioxide, creating perfect conditions for cloud formation, according to experts.
Since 2007, scientists using the AIM satellite have been documenting night-shining clouds as seen from space.
Based on five polar seasons of data, the satellite has revealed that the clouds' seasonal appearances turn on and off as abruptly as a "geophysical light bulb," according to the AIM Web site.
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