AstroCappella: Noctilucent Cloud
Words and Music by Patricia Boyd
© 2007 P. Boyd
High oh high way up above the ozone High oh high in regions near the poles Set against the arctic cold twilight Casting off an irridescent light Known for only the last century We don't know how you have come to be Noctilucent Cloud That ghostly shining polar shroud We didn't think you'd be allowed At latitudes so low (but there you go) Shining over a darkened sky In mesospheric zones so high How and why can you be? You're a cloudy mystery (mystery...) For the twenty-first century Noctilucent Cloud! High oh high on wings above the ocean On a Pegasus, AIM launches into space Measuring the temperature so cold Sizing up the cosmic dust so old How much water vapor lies within Your layer so thin? Noctilucent Cloud That ghostly irridescent shroud We didn't think you'd be allowed At latitudes so low (how can we know?) Shining over a darkened sky In mesospheric zones so high How and why can you be? Are you tied to our destiny Our global climate history An atmospheric mystery Noctilucent! Every year you number more and more And with time you're brighter than before Forming in a most unlikely place At the edge of space Noctilucent Cloud That ghostly irridescent shroud We didn't think you'd be allowed At latitudes so low (we need to know) Glowing over the polar sky In mesospheric zones so high How and why can you be? Are you tied to our destiny Our global climate history You're still a cloudy mystery Noctilucent Noctilucent Noctilucent Cloud!