Sunderland Noctilucent Cloud Display, 2014 (digital photo)

Creator: Matt Robinson Nocticulant clouds are night clouds, those of which are rare. They can only be seen in the upper atmosphere and during astronomical twilight. There had been nightly displays of noctilucent clouds for up to 7 days prior to this photo being taken. “The scale of our galaxy has been brought out superbly by using the distant silhouetted treescape. What a sky! Filled with stars, nebulae, clusters and dark dust lanes, this is the core of our galaxy at its best. The remarkable clarity of the sky at 3000m, with no significant light pollution is very impressive indeed!” Pete Lawrence Born digital photograph entitled 'Sunderland Noctilucent Cloud Display' by Matt Robinson taken on 7th July 2015 at Seaburn Beach, Sunderland. Taken with Canon EOS 1100D camera with a 18mm f/13 lens, ISO 400, 20-second exposure. Runner-up of Skyscapes category of Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2015.