Starship Asterisk*

Explanation: Transfusing sunlight through a darkened sky, this beautiful display of noctilucent clouds was captured earlier this week, reflected in calm waters from Nykobing Mors, Denmark. From the edge of space, about 80 kilometers above Earth's surface, the icy clouds themselves still reflect sunlight, though the Sun is below the horizon as seen from the ground. Usually spotted at high latitudes in summer months the night shining clouds have made an early appearance this year as northern nights grow short. Also known as polar mesopheric clouds they are understood to form as water vapor driven into the cold upper atmosphere condenses on the fine dust particles supplied by disintegrating meteors or volcanic ash. NASA's AIM mission provides daily projections of noctilucent clouds as seen from space.

orin stepanek wrote: ↑Fri Jun 19, 2020 11:31 am

Explanation: Transfusing sunlight through a darkened sky, this beautiful display of noctilucent clouds was captured earlier this week, reflected in calm waters from Nykobing Mors, Denmark. From the edge of space, about 80 kilometers above Earth's surface, the icy clouds themselves still reflect sunlight, though the Sun is below the horizon as seen from the ground. Usually spotted at high latitudes in summer months the night shining clouds have made an early appearance this year as northern nights grow short. Also known as polar mesopheric clouds they are understood to form as water vapor driven into the cold upper atmosphere condenses on the fine dust particles supplied by disintegrating meteors or volcanic ash. NASA's AIM mission provides daily projections of noctilucent clouds as seen from space.

IMG_4164a_1024s.jpg

Yes very beautiful!

Jerome68 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 19, 2020 11:40 am Is that photo made by you? it is amazing

Chris Peterson wrote: ↑Fri Jun 19, 2020 1:10 pm FYI, the town is Nykøbing Mors (there are lots of Nykøbings, this one being on the island of Mors). Not Nykobing.

TheZuke! wrote: ↑Fri Jun 19, 2020 1:25 pm

Chris Peterson wrote: ↑Fri Jun 19, 2020 1:10 pm FYI, the town is Nykøbing Mors (there are lots of Nykøbings, this one being on the island of Mors). Not Nykobing.

I'm curious, does Mors have the same meaning as moors, (type of terrain, not Muslims) as in English?

ta152h0 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 19, 2020 9:06 pm
What is the highest altitude ever ascended by a glider?
I think, if I remember right, a P51 Mustang, got to 40,000 feet.

https://perlanproject.org/missions wrote:
<<From 1992-98, NASA test pilot Einar Enevoldson collected evidence on a weather phenomenon that no one at the time even knew existed: stratospheric mountain waves. Like huge ocean waves, these waves of air are kicked off by strong winds blowing over the tops of high mountain ranges like the Andes. These waves of air then shoot straight up towards space. As a pilot, Einar quickly figured out that you can use a glider to ride those waves all the way up to near space. And he set out to prove it. This became The Perlan Project.

In 1998 meteorologist Dr. Elizabeth Austin teamed up with Einar and expanded upon his findings proving that it is the stratospheric polar night jet and the polar vortex that are factors in sustaining these mountain waves allowing them to reach up to 130,000 feet (39,624 metres).

In 1999 Steve Fossett, the record-setting aviator, sailor, adventurer and first person to fly solo non-stop around the world in a balloon, decided to fund Perlan Mission I and became one of its pilots. On August 30, 2006 Steve Fossett and Einar Enevoldson flew (Perlan Mission I) a modified DG-505m aircraft (Perlan 1), to 50,722 ft (15,460 m) breaking the previous record by 1,662 ft (507 m).

And they could have gone even higher!

The problem was that their pressure suits expanded so much inside the cabin that they could not move the flight controls and safely control the aircraft anymore. Therefore, they came down, and quickly decided they needed a custom glider with a pressurized cabin.

Based on the complete success of Perlan Mission I, proving Enevoldson’s thesis, Steve agreed to fund Perlan Mission II, building a pressurized cabin for a special sailplane to fly to 90,000 feet (27,432 meters).

On September 3, 2007, Steve Fossett disappeared while flying over the Sierra Nevada Mountains and his death was eventually confirmed. At the time of Steve’s passing, the structural and aerodynamic design of the fuselage of Perlan 2 had been completed, along with the aerodynamic design of the entire sailplane (glider). Unfortunately, both Steve Fossett and the funding for completion of Perlan Mission II were lost.>>

ta152h0 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 19, 2020 9:06 pm What is the highest altitude ever ascended by a glider?

NBC News MACH wrote: Riding the wind above the Andes Mountains, an experimental glider has set a world record for high-altitude flight.

On Sept. 2 [2018], the sleek Perlan 2 glider carried two pilots to 76,100 feet, or more than 14 miles, over the El Calafate region in southern Argentina.