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A NASA satellite has captured the first occurrence this summer of mysterious shiny polar clouds that form 50 miles above Earth’s surface.

This image was captured by NASA's AIM satellite. It shows shiny night clouds above 70 degrees north latitude. Photo is taken on May 25 2009.

These mystifying clouds are called Polar Mesospheric Clouds.

NASA says that it is "very little known" about the way this clouds are formed over the Earth's poles.

It is also interesting that people on the ground are reporting that these clouds were seen more frequently.

AIM (Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere) is the first satellite mission which is dedicated to the study of mystifying shiny clouds.

NASA announced that AIM will observe two complete cloud seasons over both poles, documenting an entire life cycle of the shiny clouds for the first time.

Photo credits: NASA, Veres Viktor