Photographer captures amazing images of rare and unusual clouds in Burnley night sky

The rare and unusual sight of noctilucent clouds over Burnley were captured on camera by talented photographer Rob Keeble last week.
Rob's image of the noctilucent clouds above Burnley bus station on Friday evening.Rob's image of the noctilucent clouds above Burnley bus station on Friday evening.
Rob's image of the noctilucent clouds above Burnley bus station on Friday evening.

These striking images were taken on Friday, which was June 21st, and marked the longest day of the year.

Noctilucent clouds are extremely rare, very high clouds seen in the night sky, usually on clear, summer nights.

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They become visible about the same time as the brightest stars and are usually bluish or silvery as you can see from Rob's images taken at strategic points in the town.

The amazing night sky over Burnley captured by Rob KeebleThe amazing night sky over Burnley captured by Rob Keeble
The amazing night sky over Burnley captured by Rob Keeble

Noctilucent is taken from the Latin meaning 'night shining' and the clouds often resemble thin streaky cirrus, though other shapes are often seen. They are usually blue or silver in colour, but sometimes orange or red.

The clouds are in fact extremely rare collections of ice crystals that become visible about the same time as the brightest stars appear and they often stay visible after dark because they are still reflecting sunlight due to their great height.

The clouds could be seen across Europe and experts hailed them as 'one of the most epic sights in the sky.'