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Carpal Tunnel
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What's the difference between noctilucent and glow-in-the-dark?
From today's Word:
noctilucent (nok-tuh-LOO-suhnt) adjective
Shining at night.
[From Latin nocti- (night) + lucent (shining).]
I thought maybe noctilucent meant shining using its own power of whatever kind, but the two examples mentioned are clouds and paint, neither of which do that.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Come on! The glowworm is the NOCTILUCENT nr.1 !
And that sky does not even seem a night sky , but the red makes me suspect it is late sunset with the last sun rays touching those clouds.
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addict
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addict
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There's words next to the pretty pictures... (^_^) Noctilucent clouds, also known as polar mesospheric clouds, are bright cloudlike atmospheric phenomena visible in a deep twilight...
...are visible only when illuminated by sunlight from below the horizon... Glow-in-the-dark usually refers to things that are luminescent and they glow in the day time not just at night.
Last edited by Myridon; 04/17/2008 10:23 PM.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Hmm--what I was getting at is: does noctilucent refer strictly to things that absorb light from some source outside themselves then whatever chemical is in it gives off a glow for a limited time (like those glow-in-the-dark plastic stars you stick on your kid's bedroom ceiling); and things like sunset clouds which only give off reflected light; or can it also include things that emit their own light, like lightning bugs (fireflies)?
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old hand
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old hand
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My 2 cents: noctilucent specifically refers to a time of day. This says to me that it refers to anything that shines at night, for whatever reason. It would seem also to indicate something that shines exclusively, or nearly so, at night, just as nocturnal refers to what is normally active at night, and not normally during the day. This would seem to knock out "glow-in-the-dark" items, as the light for these can be activated at any time. Sunset clouds would be in, but only if late enough to qualify as "at night" (another argument entirely). Also in are lightning bugs, as these normally light up only at night. In also would be outdoor solar lights of any kind, as they are created in such as way as not to light up until nighttime. Out would be most ocean-living bioluminescent creatures which glow in any darkness, not just at night. :0)
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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from below the horizon... Yes that's what I meant too, the last rays of sun after it sunk (sank)? below the horizon. Living at the seaside I often saw that phenomenen. Missed the words. Out would be most ocean-living bioluminescent creatures which glow in any darkness, not just at night. :0)
But a wonderful thing to have at an after sunset swim. 'Sea lightning'.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Just to throw another complication in, noctilucent clouds are no brighter than dialucent clouds; they just seem so since they have less competition from the sky.
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old hand
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old hand
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Just to throw another complication in, noctilucent clouds are no brighter than dialucent clouds; they just seem so since they have less competition from the sky. Not really a complication, because it's true of anything that shines, anyway. Stars shine during the day, but we cannot perceive them. If lightning bugs did light up in the day, we would not notice. But a wonderful thing to have at an after sunset swim. 'Sea lightning'. Have you done that, Bran? Swimming with bioluminescents would be so cool!
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