Lights In Town Sky

A mini aurora seemed to appear in the sky this evening in Loughborough.

These are in fact nacreous clouds that form very high in the atmosphere between sunset and sun rise and reflect light through tiny crystals. Nacreous clouds, which are rare and very high clouds that reflect coloured light, have been spotted across the town.

Nacreous clouds form in the lower stratosphere over polar regions when the Sun is just below the horizon, according to the Met Office. The ice particles that form nacreous clouds are much smaller than those that form more common clouds and scatter light in a different way, creating the distinctive, luminescent appearance.

The phenomenon is sometimes referred to as a rainbow cloud, with its name coming from the old English word “Nacre” meaning “mother of pearl”.