Photos: Noctilucent clouds light up Dutch night skies

Noctilucent clouds have been beautifully visible in various places in the Netherlands on several nights in the past week. These clouds mainly appear around the longest days of the year and could also be visible again in the coming days.

“We are now in the middle of the period in which noctilucent clouds can be seen well,” meteorologist Thijs Smink of Buienradar told RTL Nieuws. “That is roughly from the beginning of June to mid-July, with a peak around the shortest night of the year.”

Noctilucent clouds float at around 80 kilometers high, in the mesosphere. That is much higher than normal clouds, which are usually between 1 and 12 kilometers high. The noctilucent clouds’ height means that the sun can illuminate them from just below the horizon. “The clouds light up white or silver, and in the middle of the night. In photos, they even appear light yellow to orange.”

The clouds are difficult to predict, but clear weather is essential for them to appear. “Low cloud cover can easily block the view of these high clouds,” Smink told the broadcaster.