NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers photographed a rare atmospheric phenomenon over the US and Mexico known as a "sprite" that's ...

A rare and visually stunning electrical phenomenon lit up the skies over North America earlier this week, as NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers captured a dramatic image of a giant red lightning sprite from ...

This red sprite, like a previous one NASA captured in June 2024, has red tendrils associated with jellyfish sprites due to “the positively charged lightning [interacting] with atmospheric ...

Sprites have probably been around as long as lightning itself, but scientists have focused attention on them only in the past few decades. The exact mechanisms of how and when they form are a hot ...

Not much is known about red sprites, but they have been noted to occur under specific conditions. When a strong positive lightning strike occurs near the ground, a red sprite is generated 30 miles ...

And though it’s difficult to tell from photos, sprites are very large. An ordinary lightning bolt is about an inch thick and several miles long. Jellyfish sprites can be 30 miles across.

“We have a great view above the clouds, so scientists can use these types of pictures to better understand the formation, characteristics, and relationship of TLEs to thunderstorms,” she concluded.

Hidden Planet Photographers are chasing down elusive, glowing red ‘sprites’ They are not fairies, but their red glows vanish quickly. Now photographers are helping solve the mystery of these ...

“Just. Wow,” the 36-year-old astronaut wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the red jellyfish-like electrical occurrence. “As we went over Mexico and the U.S. this morning, I caught this sprite.” A ...