Latin for “night shining,” noctilucent clouds (also known as twilight clouds) are responsible for Earth’s vibrant red, orange, and purple dawn and dusk skies. If the conditions are just right, they sometimes even take on an iridescent,

The phenomenon of twilight clouds was first observed on Mars in 1997 during NASA’s Pathfinder mission. However, it wasn’t until 2019 that the Curiosity Rover captured the firs