Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Luminous at night. Used especially of certain high clouds.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Shining by night or in the dark; nuctilucid: as, the noctilucent eyes of a cat.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective meteorology
Shining orglowing atnight , especially of veryhigh - altitude clouds that reflectsunlight long aftersunset .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective shining or glowing by night
Etymologies
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Examples
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That route saves fuel and avoids high-altitude ice clouds, called noctilucent clouds, that form during the summer between 50 degrees and 70 degrees north and south of the equator.
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That route saves fuel and avoids high-altitude ice clouds, called noctilucent clouds, that form during the summer between 50 degrees and 70 degrees north and south of the equator.
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The clouds are intended to simulate naturally-occurring phenomena called noctilucent clouds, which are the highest clouds in the atmosphere.
Latest Articles 2009
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Scientists claim these "noctilucent" clouds -- formations that are similar to what was seen after the Tunguska event -- reach the poles because water vapor appears to be quickly traveling in two dimensions, rather than three.
Archive 2009-07-05 Toby O'B 2009
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"noctilucent" clouds have become more common in the past 50 years.
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"noctilucent" clouds have become more common in the past 50 years.
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"noctilucent" clouds have become more common in the past 50 years.
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Look for the Plough in the NW, the Square of Pegasus in the E, and remain on the alert for noctilucent clouds above the NW to NE horizon, perhaps near Capella in Auriga.
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Look for the Plough in the NW, the Square of Pegasus in the E, and remain on the alert for noctilucent clouds above the NW to NE horizon, perhaps near Capella in Auriga.
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Noguchi sent down other beautiful shots, including “priceless” noctilucent clouds above Antarctica, city lights above Tokyo, and Port-Au-Prince, Haiti with “prayers” from the crew.
ISS Crew Twitpics from Orbit; Live Streaming Video Soon ! | Universe Today 2010
quotato commented on the word noctilucent
NIGHT-SHINING CLOUDS: NASA's AIM spacecraft left Earth Wednesday on a two-year mission to study mysterious noctilucent (night-shining) clouds. Hovering at the edge of space, these clouds were first noticed in the 19th century; they are remarkable for their electric-blue color and sharp, wavy ripples. In recent years noctilucent clouds have been growing brighter and spreading. What causes them? Theories range from space dust to global warming. For the next two years, AIM will scrutinize the clouds from Earth orbit to learn what they may be telling us about our planet.
April 26, 2007
reesetee commented on the word noctilucent
My brain wants this word to be "nocticulent."
April 17, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word noctilucent
There is also a bioluminescent jellyfish named Pelagia noctiluca. I love that name.
April 17, 2008
reesetee commented on the word noctilucent
That is a nice name. :-)
April 17, 2008
crystalcrystal commented on the word noctilucent
Can this be used this to describe a person? Because i'm going to use it for that today.
March 9, 2012