THE 2017 Noctilucent Cloud Season has officially begun. Late last week the first clouds of the summer were observed - by someone in the south of England, not from up here in cloudy Cumbria of course - so on every clear night between now and the end of July, please keep an eye on the northern sky after midnight; you might see something beautiful and rare.

Noctilucent clouds, NLC for short, are very high, icy clouds which only form in the summer. They are so high they are lit by the Sun long after darkness has fallen here on the ground. Then they appear as swirls, whirls and feathers of electric blue light above the northern horizon. Most displays are modest affairs, comprising a few subtly glowing streaks and strands, but occasionally a major display occurs and paints the whole of the northern sky with cold blue fire. Unlike the northern lights we have no way of predicting when NLC will appear in the sky - they just do. All we can do is check the sky around midnight on any and every clear summer night, just in case.

Because most displays of NLC hug the horizon, you'll have the best chance of seeing them if your view north is not cluttered with trees, buildings or hills. And it's often one or two in the morning before a display starts, so you need a lot of patience too.

Good luck!

Stuart Atkinson