NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

AIM will make simultaneous measurements of the main ingredients needed to form these clouds and will unravel the role of natural factors, such as the solar cycle and meteorology, from the possible role of anthropogenic factors such as carbon dioxide, which causes a warming in the lower atmosphere but a cooling in this region of the atmosphere 50 miles above the Earth surface. Ultimately, this research will provide the data needed to determine the role of polar mesospheric clouds as an important indicator of our planet's changing climate.
Image credit: NASA
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