John Clement Captures June 2 Noctilucent Clouds Over Washington as 2026 Season Begins
Updated
Updated · Space.com · Jun 5
John Clement Captures June 2 Noctilucent Clouds Over Washington as 2026 Season Begins
2 articles · Updated · Space.com · Jun 5
Summary
June 2 marked one of the earliest 2026 noctilucent cloud sightings, with John Clement photographing the glowing display above Kennewick, Washington, at 9:58 p.m. after first heading out to shoot a Venus-Jupiter conjunction.
Clement confirmed the clouds in a three-shot panorama taken from his southwest Kennewick patio using an Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III and a 150 mm lens with bracketed 1-second exposures.
May 31 also brought an early-season sighting in Europe, when astronomy enthusiast Daniel Fischer posted noctilucent clouds above Flensburg, Germany, suggesting the display had already reached lower northern latitudes.
About 50 miles above Earth, noctilucent clouds form from tiny ice crystals in the mesosphere and stay sunlit after sunset, making them glow against a darkening sky.
The clouds are typically visible from mid-May to mid-August—peaking in July—most often between 45 and 80 degrees north, with the best viewing after sunset toward the western sky.