Photo Journal
21st Dec // A Spectacle of Colour
Kent
"Nacreous clouds form in the lower stratosphere over polar regions when the Sun is just below the horizon. The ice particles that form nacreous clouds are much smaller than those that form more common clouds. These smaller particles scatter light in a different way, which is what creates the distinctive luminescent appearance."
"Because of the very low temperatures required, nacreous clouds are usually only visible from the UK when the cold air which circulates around polar regions in the stratosphere (known as the stratospheric polar vortex) is displaced and hovers temporarily over the UK."
Description aside, I don't think pictures or even words can do this moment justice. I thought my eyes were tricking me or there was something on the car window when I noticed the colours in the sky. Over the next 30 minutes as the sun set I watched the colours shift and warp, holding their intensity long after the surrounding clouds had gone dark. I've never seen the northern lights in person but this felt as special as Id imagine seeing them.
