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Астронет: Астрономическая картинка дня Красные спрайты над Кунунурра http://variable-stars.ru/db/msg/1459341/eng |
Credit & Copyright: Ben Broady
Explanation:
What are those red filaments in the sky?
It is a rarely seen form of lightning confirmed only about 30 years ago:
red sprites.
Recent research has shown that following a powerful positive
cloud-to-ground lightning strike,
red sprites may start as 100-meter balls of
ionized
air that shoot down from about
80-km high at 10 percent the
speed of light and are
quickly followed
by a group of upward streaking ionized balls.
The
featured image, taken just over a week ago in
Kununurra,
Western Australia,
captured some red sprites while shooting
a time-lapse sequence of a distant lightning storm.
Pictured, green trees cover the foreground, dark mountains are seen on the horizon,
ominous storm clouds hover over the distant land,
while
red
sprites appear in front of stars far in the distance.
Red sprites take only a
fraction of a second to occur and are best seen when
powerful thunderstorms are visible from the side.
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.