ALTHOUGH the night sky never gets truly dark at this time of year, sky watchers look forward to it because it's the only time we can see one of nature's most beautiful nocturnal sights - a display of noctilucent clouds, or 'NLC'.

NLC are very high altitude clouds of icy dust, which shine silvery blue and silver in the north when they catch the Sun's light. They only appear from late May to the end of July, so now's the time to start looking out for them after midnight on any clear night. Most displays are quite modest and faint, but occasionally the whole northern sky can fill with whirls, swirls and streamers of violet, silver and electric blue light.

NLC displays can't be predicted, so you just have to keep en eye out for them on clear nights. If you follow me on Twitter, though, I'll let you know when they are visible.

Stuart Atkinson

Eddington Astronomical Society of Kendal