Home / Editor's Pick /

Rare shining clouds seen in the UK

15:05
22 June 2023

Noctilucent clouds
Rare shining clouds seen in the UK

Noctilucent cloudsThe shimmering noctilucent clouds were seen in Keswick, of the Lake District, on Wednesday evening. - © picture alliance

Rare shining clouds have appeared over the UK this week casting an illuminating tint to the evening skies.

Known as noctilucent clouds, these shimmering clouds form around 50 miles above Earth’s surface in the mesosphere during summer months.

The unusual display of blue and silver ribbon clouds can keep the evening sky bright hours after the sun has set.

The clouds have been snapped in various locations in recent weeks, including Cumbria, Tyne and Wear, and Sutherland, Scotland.

It is not known for sure how these clouds form, although we know that they shine thanks to the sun’s light illuminating ice crystals from beyond the horizon.

These crystals reflect the light onto dust particles in the mesosphere, where temperatures reach -134C.

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

If you spot any bright shining clouds at night in the coming months, we would love to see them!

Snap a picture and submit it by tapping the image icon in our app, or use the dedicated picture uploader.

Ryan Hathaway
More on the topic
Split image showing storm clouds over a coastal town on the left, and a circumzenithal arc on the right.
Sunday, 13 July 2025

Your weather - Your shots

Summer warmth and sights
Flood water and weather radar showing heavy rain and thunderstorms over the southern US.
Thursday, 10 July 2025

Downpours & flash floods

More severe weather in the USA
sunny
Friday, 11 July 2025

Safety first

Tips for the current heatwave!
All weather news
This might also interest you
Weather map on the left showing heavy rain over the UK and Ireland. Wind map on the right shows strong gusting winds over Ireland, Wales, and England, strongest in the south.
Tuesday, 15 July 2025

Breakfast brief

Wet, gusty, with thundery potential
Two weather radars side-by-side, one showing sunny conditions over the UK and the other a temperature map showing widespread warmth.
Thursday, 10 July 2025

Breakfast brief

Turning sunnier and warmer
Friday, 4 July 2025

Breakfast brief

Gusty and wet end to the week
All articles
Weather & Radar

www.weatherandradar.co.uk

facebooktwittertikTokContact uslinkList
Privacy Policy | Legal info | Accessibility statement