June 24th Noctilucent Clouds!!

I had a great observing session tonight 24/25. I started early at 00.30 using my 10X50 binos handheld and observed the variable stars RCrB, TCrB and Chi Cygni and took a sight seeing tour through the milkyway in Cygnus. I set up the 16" and searched the western sky for comets untill the wanning full moon was well and truely clear above the SE horizon. At 01.55 local time i spotted the first signs of a growing NLC display low in the north only 5* above the horizon and 12* long. It was faint but obvious. After some time the display grew in intensity and size untill it simply became spectacular as it peeked before dawn. The display dominated the NW - NE sky expanding 82* in length and 22* in height and was of a type 3 then type 4 structure and of type 4-5 brightness. It was simply beautiful with amazing delicate white glowing complex structure like ripples on a beach then later developed into large 3D curles! It was absolutely incredible so i brought my sister outside to observe it until 03.40 where even then it was still visible in the very bright twilight. A unforagetable sight! I took over 70 images and will post a link here shortly so i can share them with you. They all turned out great and i am very pleased with them. For icing on the cake i was also greeted to two bright orange meteors and watched the ISS pass very close to Mars....what a night

Great report martin, sounds like you had a great night

www.ukweatherworld.co.uk/forum/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=22053

Click the link above to see a selection of the images i took last night.

All best!

www.nlcnet.co.uk/images/Mckenna/24-25/

Click here to see my high resolution images of the June 24th NLC display. Link is from the UK NLC homepage.

All best