Go Back
Severe weather outbreak, capable of spawning tornadoes, begins. Follow live updates. Chevron right

Ashburn, VA

51°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Ashburn

Virginia

51°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Ashburn, VA Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

Video

Podcasts

Winter Center

News & Features AccuWeather Prime Astronomy Business Climate Health Recreation Sports Travel
High Wind Watch

News / Astronomy

Summer solstice brings opportunity to see unusual 'electric blue clouds'

By Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist and staff writer

Published Jun 17, 2020 6:50 PM EDT

Copied

The longest day of 2020 is about to unfold for the Northern Hemisphere, and after the sun finally sets, skywatchers in certain areas of the globe could spot a type of cloud that goes undetected throughout the rest of the year.

The summer solstice occurs every year between June 20 and June 22 in the Northern Hemisphere when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer. As the Earth orbits around the sun on its axis, the most direct rays from the sun migrate southward, eventually reaching the Tropic of Capricorn on the winter solstice between Dec. 20 and Dec. 22.

For the Southern Hemisphere, the opposite is true with the June solstice marking the start of winter and the December solstice marking the start of summer.

The changing of the seasons will officially occur on Saturday, June 20, at 5:43 p.m. EDT. This will also be the longest season of the year, lasting 93 days, 15 hours and 46 minutes, according to timeanddate.com.

Not only does the summer solstice feature the longest day of the year, but it also brings the opportunity to see a weather phenomenon high in Earth’s atmosphere.

Noctilucent clouds, sometimes called "electric blue clouds" due to their color, are a type of cloud that is only visible to the naked eye a few weeks out of the year right around the summer solstice when the weather conditions and the sun angle are just right.

“These clouds form much higher than typical clouds. They form around 50 miles above the Earth's surface, nearly all other clouds form in the lowest 10 miles of the atmosphere,” AccuWeather astronomy blogger Dave Samuhel said.

June and July offer the best opportunities to spot these high-altitude clouds in the Northern Hemisphere, while in the Southern Hemisphere, onlookers should keep an eye out for them in December and January.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

There is a catch for people trying to spot these shimmering clouds in the weeks surrounding the summer solstice — they are only visible in areas between 45 and 60 degrees latitude, according to EarthSky.

This includes areas in and around cities such as London, Paris, Berlin, Calgary, Montreal, Minneapolis and Seattle.

Some planning is also required to spot the elusive clouds as they can be seen only about one to two hours after sunset in the western sky and about one to two hours before sunrise in the eastern sky.

Noctilucent clouds
Twitter

Noctilucent clouds are a part of Earth’s atmosphere, but they have otherworldly origins.

“These clouds actually form around particles left behind by meteors," Samuhel said. "Super cold water droplets freeze on the meteor debris and form ice. These clouds are made purely of ice."

Related:

AccuWeather Summer Camp: Any use in cracking car windows when it’s hot?
Study suggests new method for predicting severity of solar storms targeting Earth
NASA picks Astrobotic to land ice-hunting VIPER rover at the moon's south pole

A similar phenomenon can happen when a rocket launch takes place just before daybreak or shortly after sunset.

On Saturday, June 13, 2020, SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, before sunrise. As the rocket ascended through the atmosphere, it eventually reached sunlight which illumined its trail of exhaust to create a spectacular display.

SpaceX's predawn Starlink satellite launch looks simply stunning in these Twitter photos https://t.co/274J76kVp9 pic.twitter.com/kUVbd7qlrn

— SPACE.com (@SPACEdotcom) June 14, 2020

Although the first night of summer may be the shortest of the year, it may still make for a good night of stargazing as onlookers will enjoy mild conditions and a moonless night.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

Report a Typo
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.
Comments
Hide Comments

Weather News

Severe Weather

California storm adds to monumental seasonal snow totals

Mar. 30, 2023
Astronomy

April sky to feature planetary parade, return of meteor showers

Mar. 31, 2023
Severe Weather

The harrowing moment when storm chasing turned to search and rescue

Mar. 29, 2023
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

News & Features

AccuWeather Prime

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

Top Stories

Live Blog

LIVE: Millions in danger as severe weather outbreak looms for Midwest

LATEST ENTRY

AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist breaks down Chicago severe weather threat

4 minutes ago

Severe Weather

Severe weather threat brewing for first week of April

17 minutes ago

Winter Weather

Snowstorm to slam north-central US into Saturday

18 minutes ago

Hurricane

AccuWeather's 2023 Atlantic hurricane season forecast

1 day ago

Severe Weather

Storm will pack a punch in northeastern US as April begins

9 minutes ago

More Stories

Featured Topic

How to help Mississippi tornado survivors

Featured Stories

Severe Weather

Tornado survivors recount vital moments of taking shelter

1 hour ago

Health

Train carrying ethanol derails in Minnesota, homes evacuated

20 hours ago

Sports

MLB season is here: Experts warn lightning is a danger at games

3 hours ago

AccuWeather Astronomy Summer solstice brings opportunity to see unusual 'electric blue clouds'
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs Podcast RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs Podcast RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2023 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Do Not Sell My Data checkmark Confirmed Not Selling Your Data

We have updated our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

I Understand

Get AccuWeather alerts as they happen with our browser notifications.

Notifications Enabled

Thanks! We’ll keep you informed.

FEEDBACK