This wispy halo-shaped cloud photographed above this tree is a rare noctilucent cloud. These shimmering, cobwebby clouds form much higher up than the weather-producing clouds we’re used to seeing – some 80 kilometres above the Earth’s surface, in a section of the atmosphere called the mesosphere.

They are composed of ice crystals, which research suggests may form on dust from tiny meteorites entering our atmosphere. Because these clouds are so faint, they’re generally only viewable on clear, summer nights, shortly after the sun has set, when the ground and lower atmosphere are enveloped in darkness, but the sun’s rays can still reach these high altitudes.

Photo location: Baynchob area of Sanandaj 

Photographer based: Kurdistan of Iran 

Camera: Fujifilm HS50 camera