Astronauts aboard the International Space Station recently captured remarkable images of a transient bright phenomenon occurring above thunderstorms in Mexico and the southwestern U.S.
NASA astronaut Nicole “Steam” Ayers shared a photo on social media, expressing her amazement: “Just. Amazing. I caught this sprite this morning when I went to see Mexico and the US.”
These sprites are a type of transient luminous event (TLE) that produce bright bursts of light over powerful thunderstorms, making them tough to spot from the ground.
There’s some uncertainty regarding whether what she captured is indeed a sprite or perhaps a giant jet. Both phenomena fall under the TLE category.
NOAA reports that sprites are often triggered by lightning strikes from clouds that create an electric field extending miles into the atmosphere above thunderstorms.
The appearance of sprites is often reddish, and they last just a few seconds, rarely visible to the naked eye due to their altitude.
Ayers remarked on the beauty of sprites, noting they are luminescent events that occur above clouds due to intense electrical activity from thunderstorms. Such images help scientists better understand the dynamics and relationships between lightning and thunderstorms.
The giant jet starts from the thunderstorm’s anvil and travels up to the ionosphere. This may be what Ayers observed.
It’s still unclear why some lightning strikes produce sprites while others do not, a topic that continues to puzzle the scientific community.
Other related phenomena include elves, blue jets, and ghosts, which are also seen across different layers of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Ayers is currently aboard the ISS as part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission. They launched in March and are expected to remain in space until at least August.
During their time in the station, astronauts are involved in hundreds of scientific experiments, exploring areas like the flammability of materials and the effects of space on human physiology and psychology.
