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Space Cloud Watch

During summer months at high latitudes, just before dawn or just after sunset, cloudwatchers look up to catch the eerie glow of noctilucent clouds. Noctilucent, or night-shining clouds, are so high up in the atmosphere, they catch the sunlight from the over-the-horizon Sun and appear to glow. The range of noctilucent clouds has changed over time, and scientists need your help tracking that change! Your photos and reports can unlock clues about Earth's evolving atmospheric system. Join the ranks of Space Cloud Watchers and share your sightings of noctilucent clouds - or their absence - to help decode their mysteries.

Go to Project Website about Space Cloud Watch

ages

18 and up

division

Heliophysics

where & When

Outdoors just before dawn or just after sunset: high latitudes

launched

2025

A pre-dawn or early evening sky fades from burnt orange at the horizon to very dark blue overhead. A web of silver-white noctilucent clouds overlays the color. At the bottom, the sharp tops of evergreen trees are silhouetted.
NLCs seen from Fairbanks, Alaska.
Credit: credit: Patrick Cobb - Photovoltaic designer, photographer

What you’ll do

  • Watch the sky at dawn and dusk for noctilucent clouds (NLCs).
  • Upload your photos and observations to a website to contribute to research on Earth’s middle atmosphere (mesosphere).
  • Take note of when noctilucent clouds are absent, so you can report that too!

Requirements

  • Time: 10-20 minutes
  • Equipment: Camera, smartphone or GPS receiver
  • Knowledge: No prior knowledge necessary

Get started!

  1. Visit the project website.  
  2. Log in to CitSci.org and click the Join button to join the project.
  3. Click the Get Started button to read the “Observing and Reporting NLCs” instructions. 
  4. On summer dawns and dusks in the high latitudes, look up and take photos. Record the date, time, location and what types of clouds you saw.
  5. Click on "+Add Data" in the banner to report your observations and upload any photos you took.
A pre-dawn or early evening scene. Two figures kneel, one on each side, pointing cameras up at the sky, which is filled with wave-like noctilucent clouds shining bright against a dark blue sky. Framing the sky from below is a dark of silhouetted trees, and above, the text "Space Cloud Watch Noctilucent Clouds."

Learn More

Check out the project’s Resources tab for tips on making observations and more information about the science of noctilucent clouds.

Noctilucent clouds appear to glow against a dark blue sky. The clouds are an electric blue on top, fading to a dusty orange where they dip behind the hills on the horizon.
NLCs are seen as ‘blueish’ clouds in this photograph taken at dawn in Bozeman, Montana, USA on 16th July 2009.
Credit: Photo by Joseph Shaw, Professor and avid photographer of natural optical phenomena.

Get to know the people of Space Cloud Watch!

Portrait photo of a smiling woman standing in front of a blossoming cherry tree

Chihoko Cullens

Research Scientist

Read Chicoko's bio
Portrait photo of a woman sitting in front of a building

Brentha Thurairajah

Research Assistant Professor

Visit Brentha's bio