Gigantic Jet Lightning over China
Explanation:
That's
no meteor.
While watching and photographing this year's Perseid Meteor Shower, something unexpected
happened: a
gigantic jet erupted from a nearby cloud.
The whole thing was over in a flash -- it lasted less than a second -- but was fortunately
captured by an already-recording digital camera.
Gigantic jets are a rare form of lightning
recognized formally only a few years ago.
The
featured high resolution color image, taken near the peak of
Shikengkong mountain in
China,
may be the best image yet of this unusual phenomena.
The same event appears to have been
captured simultaneously by another photographer, further away.
The gigantic jet appears to start somewhere in a nearby
thundercloud and extend
upwards towards
Earth's ionosphere.
The nature of
gigantic jets
and their possible association with other types of
Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) such as
blue jets and
red
sprites remains an active topic of research.
Free Download:
APOD 2017 Calendar: NASA Images
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
