Have you ever seen these clouds❓☁︎ ⠀⠀⠀ Noctilucent clouds are a summer phenomenon visible when the Sun is below the viewer’s horizon, shining light on these tenuous wisps. First mentioned in 1885, just two years after the Krakatoa volcanic eruption, one of the most destructive on record, they were once considered a rare meteorological phenomenon. The clouds have been sited more frequently over the past few years, linked by many to increased greenhouse gas emissions. ⠀⠀⠀ Noctilucent form in the mesosphere, the upper and more complex part of Earth’s atmosphere. While the lower atmosphere warms during this period, atmospheric circulation pushes air upwards, where it expands and cools. This means the mesosphere is cold enough for water vapour to freeze into clouds of ice crystals that form on meteoric dust and other particles found at the so called edge of space. ⠀⠀⠀ The rarefied atmosphere at these altitudes is electrically charged and some of these charges are transferred to the ice crystals, creating a so-called…