ALTHOUGH the so-called Noctilucent Cloud Season doesn't officially begin until the start of June, these beautiful electric blue clouds have been seen from mid-May in some years, STUART ATKINSON.

So, any clear night from now until the start of August you should look to the north after midnight - just in case.

What are you looking for? Well, their name gives a big clue to what they are: 'nocti' (night) 'lucent' (shining) clouds are strange, high altitude clouds of icy dust which we only see from our part of the world at this time of the year. We can only see them because they are so high in the atmosphere - almost at the edge of space - and are bathed in sunlight when it is dark down here on the ground. But we can't predict their appearance, so we just have to scan the northern sky on clear summer nights and cross our fingers they appear. When they do appear we see them as bright streaks, whirls and plumes in the northern sky hours after sunset. Mist displays are modest, quite faint, and never reach very high above the horizon, so trees and hills can hide them from view. But during a major display the whole northern sky blazes silvery blue-white, with NLC bright enough to cast shadows.

NLC are a naked eye sky sight, but if you have binoculars you will be able to see their beautiful shapes and structures better, and see their slow motion movement too. They can be bright enough to photograph with just your phone's camera, but you need a DSLR to photograph them properly, with long exposures.

So, any clear night from now on, keep an eye on the northern sky. And keep those fingers crossed.

Stuart Atkinson

Eddington Astronomical Society of Kendal