naure.com
NatureSurprise 5/5Difficulty 4/5Reviewed on September 13, 2026

Noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds in Earth's atmosphere.

Why it is true

They form in the mesosphere, about 80 kilometres up, where water vapour freezes into ice crystals on meteor dust. They are visible at twilight, when the Sun illuminates these clouds while the ground is already dark.

Source: NASA

Would you rather be asked first?

This is the reading side of the site, so the answer is in the sentence above — that is the whole point of it. Test yourself works the other way round: the question comes on its own, and the fact and the explanation only appear once you have answered.

Test yourself →10-question challenge

Related facts

More in Nature

See all →