+ Visit NASA.gov + Advanced Search   + About the Server   + Animation List   + How to Use the Server   + RSS Feeds Previous Animation Next Animation The First Season of Noctilucent Clouds from AIM The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) mission is the first satellite dedicated to the study of noctilucent clouds. Noctilucent clouds, sometimes called Polar Mesospheric Clouds, were first reported in 1885. Forming at altitudes above 50 miles, they are so faint that they can only be seen from the ground in the reflected light of the Sun after it has set below the horizon. Since their discovery, their cause has been a subject of study as a possible indicator of climate change. For those interested in observing noctilucent clouds from the ground, there are images and information at SpaceWeather's Gallery of Noctilucent Clouds.    This movie presents a daily accumulation of data from the AIM spacecraft for the northern hemisphere. The circular gap over the Earth's geographic pole is due to a gap in the satellite coverage. Duration: 1.1 minutes Available formats:   640x360 (30 fps) MPEG-4   4 MB   512x288 (30 fps) MPEG-1   6 MB   1280x720 (30 fps) MPEG-2   21 MB   1280x720 (30 fps) Frames   320x180     PNG           215 KB   1280x720 (30 fps) MPEG-4   16 MB How to play our movies    Opening push-in to the globe. Available formats:   2560 x 1440     TIFF 1 MB   320 x 180         JPEG 19 KB    A view of the northern hemsphere near the start of the cloud season (May 20, 2007). Available formats:   2560 x 1440     TIFF 4 MB   320 x 180         JPEG 42 KB    June 16, 2007 Available formats:   2560 x 1440     TIFF 3 MB   320 x 180         JPEG 33 KB    June 23, 2007 Available formats:   2560 x 1440     TIFF 4 MB   320 x 180         JPEG 37 KB   160 x 80           PNG 56 KB   80 x 40             PNG 15 KB    June 28, 2007 Available formats:   2560 x 1440     TIFF 3 MB   320 x 180         JPEG 35 KB    July 9, 2007 Available formats:   2560 x 1440     TIFF 3 MB   320 x 180         JPEG 35 KB    July 15, 2007 Available formats:   2560 x 1440     TIFF 4 MB   320 x 180         JPEG 37 KB    July 20, 2007 Available formats:   2560 x 1440     TIFF 3 MB   320 x 180         JPEG 36 KB    July 24, 2007 Available formats:   2560 x 1440     TIFF 4 MB   320 x 180         JPEG 37 KB    August 1, 2007 Available formats:   2560 x 1440     TIFF 3 MB   320 x 180         JPEG 34 KB    August 4, 2007 Available formats:   2560 x 1440     TIFF 3 MB   320 x 180         JPEG 33 KB    August 5, 2007 Available formats:   2560 x 1440     TIFF 3 MB   320 x 180         JPEG 32 KB    August 10, 2007 Available formats:   2560 x 1440     TIFF 3 MB   320 x 180         JPEG 31 KB    August 15, 2007 Available formats:   2560 x 1440     TIFF 3 MB   320 x 180         JPEG 31 KB    September 2, 2007: The End of the Season for the Northern hemisphere. Available formats:   2560 x 1440     TIFF 3 MB   320 x 180         JPEG 27 KB Animation Number: 3484 Animator: Tom Bridgman (SVS) (Lead) Completed: 2007-11-21 Scientist: James M Russell III (Hampton University) Writer: William Steigerwald (NASA/GSFC) Instrument: AIM Data Collected: 2007-05-20 to 2007-09-02 Keywords: DLESE >> Atmospheric science SVS >> Clouds SVS >> HDTV SVS >> Noctilucent GCMD >> EARTH SCIENCE >> Climate Indicators GCMD >> EARTH SCIENCE >> Atmosphere >> Clouds SVS >> iPod SVS >> Noctilucent Clouds More Information on this topic available at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/aim/mystery_clouds.html     Please give credit for this item to NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio Back to Top + Privacy Policy and Important Notices + Reproduction Guidelines NASA Official: SVS Contact: Curator: