[UmYeahNo]

I have more questions than answers after reading this.

"They’re lit by a twilight sun catching on ice crystals and seeded by rocket exhaust and space dust." and

"Exhaust from rockets, which have been launching in growing numbers lately, can also seed the clouds, as the AIM satellite research showed."

...are a pretty startling notion.

Should we expect, then, that this phenomena will be constant / worsening moving forward as the proliferation of rocket launches increases thereby pumping more water / alumina / particulates into the very upper atmosphere?

I'm not an alarmist normally, but taken further, then is it too hyperbolic to say that SpaceX and its high-frequency launch competitors are already changing the global weather within just a few years of ramping up operations?

Can we say with certainty that the occurrence of these clouds is not an harbinger / indicator of future weather changes? Like, does having more ultra-high altitude clouds increase or decrease greenhouse effects, for example?

[ofalkaed]

If memory serves water vapor in the mesosphere is broken down by UV fairly readily and migrates into the thermosphere. I think the stratosphere would be in dire shape by the time the mesosphere had any real effect and would be the least of our worries. But I am going off of old memories from school days and am far from an expert.

[bongodongobob]

I have a feeling it's a drop in the bucket and airplanes and cars have far greater impact on anything climate related.

[UmYeahNo]

I might have thought that too, however the article specifically called out rockets as a cause. So, if rockets are contributing a significantly more particulates such that it causes a phenomenon of more cloud cover at lower latitudes, is that a cause for concern? I don't know either way -- I was asking what we might think it meant.

[bongodongobob]

I didn't get the impression that rockets were a significant cause. For example, they mention a volcano eruption which would dwarf rocket launches.

[arjvik]

Why is this considered "worsening"? Seems like a harmless phenomenon (even though it does indicate climate change's progression) that actually looks quite beautiful!

[UmYeahNo]

I meant worsening from the perspective of becoming more and more over time, not necessarily making things "worse". a bad turn of phrase on my part.

If there is a constant cloud cover that only becomes thicker / more constant over time at very high altitude I wonder if there will be detrimental effects. That was my question. What does it mean if these clouds are constant?