noctilucent clouds
nok-tih-LOO-sent
Luminous clouds visible in the upper atmosphere around twilight — so high (about 50 miles up) that they catch sunlight long after the sun has set below the horizon. Electric blue, rippled, and rare. They are made of ice crystals coating meteoritic dust.
Etymology
Latin: noctis (night) + lucere (to shine). Night-shining clouds. First observed and named in 1885.
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