NLC Grand Display
Taken by Alan Dyer on July 7, 2026 @
Near Gleichen, Alberta, Canada
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Camera Used: Canon Canon EOS R5
Exposure Time: 2/1
Aperture: f/1.8
ISO: 400
Date Taken: 2026:07:08 12:24:12
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Details:
This was the most extensive and brightest display of noctilucent clouds so far in the 2026 season for me in southern Alberta, Canada (latitude 51º N).
A report at about 10:15 pm that NLCs were being sighted from Helena, Montana to the south of me suggested they might be overhead for me as it got dark enough to see them at 10:45 pm or so. And sure enough that was the case. I saw them visually overhead as a subtle glows in the still bright sky.
By the time I got the camera going the sky had darkened, but the clouds overhead were no longer being sunlit. But to the north the NLCs were much brighter now under peak illumination, and still high up the sky. I used a 12mm fish-eye lens to start, as the clouds extended as high as the Big Dipper at 50º altitude.
They remained bright and extensive across the northern sky from the northwest to the northeast, retreating toward the horizon as the Sun dropped lower below the horizon and clouds darkened from the top down.
The panorama shows their maximum extent across the northern horizon. The other single shot shows the intensely bright electric blue clouds at their brightest about 11:30 pm MDT.
This is peak season now in early to mid-July for NLCs for my latitude.
Photographer's website:
https://www.amazingsky.com
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