Talk:Noctilucent cloud

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I added a link to a photograph of NLCs from Punta Arenas, maybe the only one image of a southern NLC taken from ground available on the net (also it's my first contribution to wikipedia :) -- nherm

• Thanks, Nherm, and welcome to Wikipedia. You should think about creating a userpage for yourself. I hope to see more contributions!yeah exzactly because this thing sucks like apple pie! even hough i love apple pie! Denni☯ 02:53, 2005 August 10 (UTC)

[edit] Influence of Spaceflight

It is mentioned in the main article that Manned Spaceflight is a contributing factor to the appearance of NLCs. Can someone please provide a reference for this conjecture? It is my understanding that at 82km altitude the intense UV-radiation from the sun dissociates water molecules very quickly. With half-life times of mere hours, its a little curious how these can be a contributing factor. Albester 18:14, 18 May 2006 (UTC)

Not sure how to indent a reply here (and the main article isn't editable by AC like me), but it looks like shuttle exhaust is more closely related to PMC/PMSE:

  Stevens, M.H. et al., Antarctic mesospheric clouds formed from Space Shuttle exhaust, Geo. Res. Lett., 32, 2005.

Are you sure that the half-life is "mere hours" at the mesopause? The clouds are an almost permanent fixture in the polar summer, so I have a hard time believing that there's that much water being transported to that altitude. Also, here's a citation for the anthropogenic change "attribution needed":

  Thomas, G., Are Noctilucent Clouds Harbingers of Global Change in the Middle Atmosphere?, Adv. Spc. Res., 32, 1737–1746, 2003.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.91.134.125 (talk) 19:16, 8 November 2007 (UTC) 

Also title of a song by Jim Cole

[edit] Padmasambhava

This is pure nonsense but I believe that noctilucent clouds are physical manifestations of planetary wisdom (composed of frozen mist, illuminating the night, closest to empty space, poorly understood, and able to subsist at altitudes other clouds can't cut it at. Keep up the good work brothers! --68.56.0.116 (talk) 14:44, 11 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] When & where

Does anybody know at which time of day, relative to sunset/sunrise, can noctilucent clouds be seen and on which latitudes? It would be nice to have graph displaying this in the article. --83.131.82.102 (talk) 11:38, 9 March 2008 (UTC)