Strange Skies
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Cloud Grey

Sky over Antarctica glows blue with ring of bright noctilucent clouds


Space Weather
Mon, 28 Nov 2016 19:48 UTC
Noctilucent clouds over Antarctica
© NASA
This just in from NASA's AIM spacecraft: The sky above Antarctica is glowing electric blue. A ring of bright noctilucent clouds (NLCs) has formed around the South Pole, shown here in a Nov. 24th image taken by the spacecraft's Cloud Imaging and Particle Size (CIPS) Instrument:

"This season started on Nov. 17th, and is tied with 2013 for the earliest southern hemisphere season in the CIPS data record," says Cora Randall, a member of the AIM science team at the University of Colorado.

NLCs are Earth's highest clouds. They form more than 80 km above Earth's surface. Indeed, they are a mixture of Earth and space: Wisps of summertime water vapor rising from the planet below wrap themselves around meteoroids, forming tiny crystals of ice. Emphasis on summertime; NLCs appear on the eve of summer in both hemispheres.

There is growing evidence that noctilucent clouds are boosted by climate change. In recent years they have been sighted at lower latitudes than ever before, and they often get started in earlier months as well.

"The early start of the 2016 season was not at all a surprise," says Randall. "The southern hemisphere polar stratospheric winds switched to their summer-like state quite early this year."
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Igloo

November snow in Tokyo - First time in 50-years


Sputnik News
Thu, 24 Nov 2016 05:13 UTC
Snowing November in Tokyo
© AP Photo/Koji SasaharaPeople walk against blowing snow in Tokyo.
Japan's capital is experiencing November snow for the first time in more than 50 years, data from the Japan Meteorological Agency shows.The snowfall was registered on Thursday morning in central Tokyo. It was also snowing in the cities of Yokohama, Kofu, Utsunomiya and Maebashi. According to the NHK broadcaster, this is the first time that it is snowing in November in Tokyo in 54 years.

Japan's meteorologists do not exclude that by Friday morning, there could be up to two centimeters (almost one inch) of snow in Tokyo.

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Rainbow

Beautiful white rainbow photographed over Rannoch Moor, Scotland

Richard Hartley-Parkinson
Metro (UK)
Tue, 22 Nov 2016 20:43 UTC
The beautiful fogbow which appeared during Storm Angus
© Melvin NicholsonThe beautiful fogbow which appeared during Storm Angus
A photographer has taken a picture of a beautiful white rainbow in the Scottish mountains.

Melvin Nicholson captured a stunning photo of the rare phenomena - technically a fog bow - on Rannoch Moor while out walking yesterday.

A fog bow is a colourless rainbow made up of tiny water droplets that cause fog.

Due to the small size of the water droplets it has very weak colours, with a red outer edge and bluish inner edge.

Melvin said: 'I have never seen a fog bow before and understand that it is very rare.
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Snowflake

Iridescent clouds, sun dogs appear over Denver, Colorado

Chris Spears
CBS News - Denver
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 16:22 UTC
Rainbow cloud in Denver
© Mike Quaintance
There were several reports of 'rainbows' and 'fire rainbows' in the sky on Friday but these terms are misleading because they were not rainbows, nor associated with fire.

To get a rainbow you must have rain clouds with the sun at your back.

What was happening is something we call iridescence caused by iridescent clouds.

An iridescent cloud is any cloud that exhibits brilliant bright spots, bands, or borders of colors, usually red and green, observed up to 30 degrees from the sun.

The coloration is due to the diffraction of light with small cloud particles which produce the effect. Iridescence is usually seen in thin cirrostratus, cirrocumulus, and altocumulus clouds.
Rainbow cloud Denver
© Steve Kady
Most of the clouds over Denver Friday afternoon were high cirrus clouds that likely had more ice than water particles inside, which helped scattered the light much like a prism would, creating the cool effect.

A few people also saw a sun dog which is a halo around the sun with a distinct bright spot on either side. These are often seen when the sun is low on the horizon.
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Fireball

UFO filmed over Lima, Peru


The Mirror, UK
Tue, 15 Nov 2016 20:10 UTC
The 'burning' UFO was filmed travelling across the sky above Lima, Peru, for a full minute
© Photo: Alerta NoticiasThe 'burning' UFO was filmed travelling across the sky above Lima, Peru, for a full minute
The mysterious orange light was filmed for a full minute.

A mysterious 'burning' UFO has been filmed travelling across the sky above a capital city.

Residents of Lima, Peru, were left stunned as the orange light floated slowly through the air in the slightly darkened sky.
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Sun

Stunning halo effect around the sun seen in Russia's North


RT
Mon, 14 Nov 2016 12:03 UTC
Sun dog in Russia
© Matto_Nastia/Instagram
Internet users from Murmansk, Tyumen, and Chelyabinsk are uploading photos of a shining circle around the sun - a natural phenomenon known as the halo effect, especially stunning in the dim northern skies.

Sometimes called winter rainbows, the halo is created by ice crystals which cause refraction, just as rainbows are caused by water droplets. The symmetrical patches of light, tinged with red on the inside, are called mock suns, parhelia, or sundogs.

The caption to this image from the city of Chelyabinsk (remember the meteorite in 2013?) reads "Right now: halo effect in Chelyabinsk."
Chelyabinsk, Russia
© Via Instagram/Denisk4x4
Halos can have many forms, ranging from colored or white rings to arcs and spots in the sky. Circular halos, light pillars, and the above-mentioned sundogs are among the better-known forms of the phenomenon.

These photos were uploaded from the city of Tyumen, where the temperature is around -20C.

Tyumen, Russia
© Via Instagram/Serebryakov89
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Bizarro Earth

Strange glowing in the sky during New Zealand's earthquake possibly 'earthquake lightning'

John Edens
Stuff.co.nz
Mon, 14 Nov 2016 02:46 UTC

What was that strange light in the sky? Many people overnight reported seeing strange lights in the sky, a phenomenon that has been reported for centuries before, during, and after earthquakes.

Seismologists aren't in agreement about the causes of the hotly-debated phenomenon - called earthquake lights or, sometimes, earthquake lightning.

Earthquake Damage Canterbury
© Iain McGregor/Fairfax NZMajor damage caused by the 7.5-magnitude earthquake in Canterbury.
And, of course, it's not clear whether the lights overnight in New Zealand were the phenomenon, or something else. One theory suggests dormant electrical charges in rocks are triggered by the stress of the Earth's crust and plate tectonics, transferring the charge to the surface where it appears as light.

Historical reports include globes, or orbs, of glowing light, floating just above the ground or in the sky.
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Question

Sonic boom over South Dakota remains a mystery

Mark Watson
Black Hill Pioneer News
Sat, 12 Nov 2016 06:30 UTC
Leonid Meteor
© Wikimedia CommonsA meteor during the peak of the 2009 Leonid Meteor Shower. The photograph shows the meteor, afterglow, and wake as distinct components.
Spearfish — The mystery of what caused Monday's loud boom remains.

Some theories have been refuted, while more mysterious references have appeared.

Shortly before 2 p.m., the boom was heard throughout the Black Hills. Some people said it shook their homes or businesses, rattling windows, and scaring them in several instances.

But the noise was heard in a much larger area than the Black Hills. Responses to Tuesday's Black Hills Pioneer story reported hearing the noise from Western Nebraska to Southeast Montana.

Kathy Griesse reported hearing the noise near the Agate Fossil Beds National Monument south of Harrison, Neb. She said it sounded like the noise came from the north and west of her. Additionally, she talked to people in Crawford, Neb., where people told her windows rattled at the sound of the boom; people in Whitney, Neb., also heard the noise.

On the northern end of reports, Lane Pilster said he heard the boom at his ranch, 14 miles west of Alzada, Mont.

This is about a 200-mile straight-line distance between the two reported locations.

Pilster reported that he and his dad both heard the noise to the south of them.

"The beginning of it was intense, but then faded off with a dull rumbling like a jet was flying by. The sound probably lasted about 8-10 seconds," Pilster said.

He also said he felt a moderate vibration around 5:30 a.m. Monday, and that it lasted 15-20 seconds.

He wasn't the only one to hear a strange noise apart from the 2 p.m. event.

Brad Scott, of Spearfish, heard a loud boom in downtown Spearfish around 7:30 a.m. Sunday

He described it as the "sound of about 8 shotguns going off at once."

So what was the noise?
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Question

Aurora and mystery object photographed over Sweden


Space Weather
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 00:12 UTC
"Massive auroras and an unidentified object are dancing in the sky above Abisko National Park," reports Chad Blakley of Abisko, Sweden. "Our group of eight lucky aurora watchers were out in the park enjoying the display when something very odd appeared in the sky - a luminous crescent-shaped cloud with what appears to be some sort of a flowing, cloud like tail." The park's webcam captured this image of the cloud:
Aurora and Mystery Cloud
© Chad Blakley Taken by Chad Blakley on November 11, 2016 @ Abisko National Park, Sweden.
"At first I thought the object was lens flare produced by the bright Moon, but the object has moved from one area of the sky to another in four sequential photographs captured over a 20 minute timeframe," adds Blakley. "Seeing this incredible phenomenon share the sky with strong auroras has truly been a once in a lifetime event for our guests."

The cloud resembles a rocket fuel dump. Readers, if you think you know what this is, tell us.
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Satellite

Mystery object believed to be Chinese satellite, lands at jade mine in Myanmar


BBC
Fri, 11 Nov 2016 19:32 UTC
Photograph of the metal debris
© Yannaing Pyi Sone AungPhotograph of the metal debris.
A large metal object has fallen from the sky into a jade mining area in north Myanmar, state media say. The cylindrical object, found on Thursday in Kachin state, is 4.5m (15ft) long and 1.2m wide.

Another piece of metal with Chinese writing on it tore through the roof of a nearby house at about the same time, but no injuries were reported. It is thought that the incident might be related to the launch of a Chinese satellite.

A Chinese Long March 11 rocket lifted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre on Wednesday night, carrying an experimental satellite.

'Houses shook'

Local residents reported hearing a loud bang before the object landed. Officials from the local Defence Service said it bounced 150ft (50m) and landed in a muddy area of the mine, according to the Global New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

"We were all afraid of that explosion," villager Ko Maung Myo told the Myanmar Times. "Initially, we thought it was a battle. The explosion made our houses shake. We saw the smoke from our village."

He said that the air near the object smelled acrid.

"The metal objects are assumed to be part of a satellite or the engine parts of a plane or missile," Global New Light reported.

The object appeared to be same shape and size as a part of the rocket known as a stage, says BBC science correspondent Jonathan Amos. Rocket stages are supposed to fall away into bodies of water or uninhabited areas. The Kachin state government said it was unable to immediately identify the object.
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