Noctilucent cloud season: Shimmering clouds over UK and Ireland

Shimmering noctilucent clouds were spotted over parts of the UK and Ireland over the past weekend.

After first developing over parts of continental Europe last week, these rare and unusual summer clouds, were pictured over Dublin and an area between Welshpool and Shrewsbury over the past few days.

Best viewed when the Sun has just set below the horizon, around 90 minutes after sunset, the clouds are most likely to appear between June and August for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere.

The sunlight beyond the horizon illuminates ice crystals at around 50 miles (80 km) above the Earth's surface.

As sunlight hits the crystals, the light is reflected onto dust particles in the mesosphere, where temperatures are around -134°C.