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Credit & Copyright: Stephane Vetter
(TWAN)
Explanation:
This phenomenon occurs in the sky over our heads, not the sea.
It is a type of lightning known as red sprite, and
rarely has it ever been photographed in this detail.
Even though sprites have been recorded for over 30 years,
their root cause remains unknown.
Some thunderstorms have them, but most don't.
These mysterious bursts of light in the upper atmosphere momentarily resemble
gigantic jellyfish.
A few years ago
high speed videos
were taken detailing how red
sprites actually develop.
The
featured image was captured last month in high definition from
Italy.
One unusual feature of
sprites is that they are relatively cold -- they operate more like long
fluorescent light tubes than
hot compact light bulbs.
In general, red sprites take only a fraction of a second to occur and are
best seen when
powerful thunderstorms are visible from the side.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: lightning
Publications with words: lightning
See also:
- APOD: 2024 August 13 Á Giant Jet from the International Space Station
- APOD: 2024 June 18 Á Gigantic Jets over Himalayan Mountains
- APOD: 2023 October 2 Á Sprite Lightning in High Definition
- APOD: 2023 September 18 Á The Red Sprite and the Tree
- APOD: 2023 June 25 Á Lightning on Jupiter
- APOD: 2023 April 17 Á ELVES Lightning over Italy
- Star Trails and Lightning over the Pyrenees