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ISS astronaut photographs mysterious phenomenon in the atmosphere

Published by Oleksandr Fedotkin

NASA astronaut Nicole Ayers took a rare image from the ISS of a natural phenomenon called a sprite — a powerful flare in the atmosphere that occurs during strong thunderstorms with lightning

Sprites are shaped like tornadoes of light in the stratosphere. These light flashes are still poorly understood, although scientists have been studying the phenomenon for more than 30 years. Sprite is quite difficult to photograph because it lasts only a few milliseconds and occurs infrequently.

«As we were flying over Mexico and the US this morning, I caught this sprite. Sprites — are TLEs or short-lived light events that occur above clouds and are caused by intense electrical activity during thunderstorms below. We have a great view above the clouds, so scientists can use these types of images to better understand the formation, characteristics, and connection of TLEs to thunderstorms», — said Nicole Ayers. 

According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), sprites differ in size and shape, with the largest reaching a height of 80 kilometers above the Earth’s surface from the top of a cumulus cloud, where they are born. They are red in color because they interact with nitrogen in the upper atmosphere.

Sprites can be seen from the Earth only at night with the help of special equipment, as their brightness is relatively low. Astrophysicists have discovered similar phenomena in the atmosphere of Jupiter. Scientists also suggest that they may occur on Saturn and Venus.

However, despite years of research, scientists are still not sure why some lightning strikes cause sprites to appear, while others do not. A photo taken by Nicole Ayers may help scientists better understand the nature of this phenomenon. 

Source: NotebookCheck