NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NASA's AIM satellite has provided the first global-scale, full-season view of iridescent polar clouds that form 50 miles above Earth’s surface.

The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) mission is the first satellite dedicated to the study of these noctilucent or "night-shining" clouds (also known as Polar Mesospheric Clouds). They are called "night-shining" clouds by observers on the ground because their high altitude allows them to continue reflecting sunlight after the sun has set below the horizon. AIM has provided the first global-scale view of the clouds over the entire 2007 Northern Hemisphere season with an unprecedented horizontal resolution of 3 miles by 3 miles.

The clouds consist of ice crystals formed when water vapor condenses onto dust particles in these coldest regions of our planet, at temperatures that may dip to minus 210 to minus 235 degrees Fahrenheit.

Reporters will learn about the AIM mission and its findings from several scientists.

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Dr. James M. Russell III - AIM Principal Investigator, Hampton University

Dr. Russell’s research has focused on atmospheric science, remote sensing and satellite data analysis to study properties and processes in Earth’s atmosphere. He currently serves as the principal investigator on the AIM mission and as the principal investigator for the SABER experiment on the TIMED satellite, which studies the chemistry, dynamics and energetics of the thermosphere and mesosphere. Dr. Russell served as head of the Chemistry and Dynamics Branch and the Theoretical Studies Branch in the NASA Langley Atmospheric Sciences Division. He is currently a professor of atmospheric and planetary sciences and co-director of the Center for Atmospheric Sciences at Hampton University in Virginia. He is author or co-author of more than 350 scientific papers.









Dr. Gary E. Thomas - AIM Co-Investigator, University of Colorado

Dr. Thomas's research has focused on the phenomenon of Polar Mesospheric Clouds and their environment. He is a professor emeritus at the University of Colorado, and a senior research associate at CU's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific papers in upper atmospheric science, about half of them devoted to Polar Mesospheric Clouds and Earth's cold summertime mesopause region.









Dr. Scott M. Bailey - AIM Deputy Principal Investigator, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Dr. Bailey’s research activities involve studies of the sun’s influence on the upper atmosphere, including the formation and variability of Polar Mesospheric Clouds. He is actively engaged in sounding rocket and satellite observations of both Earth and the sun. Dr. Bailey is currently an assistant professor in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. Before joining Virginia Tech, he was a faculty member in the Geophysical Institute and Department of Physics at the University of Alaska and he was a research assistant professor of physics in the Center for Atmospheric Science at Hampton University.

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