Astronaut captures stunning pillar of light bolting into Earth from space

India Today

04-07-2025

A breathtaking image taken from the International Space Station is giving scientists and skywatchers a rare look at one of Earth's most elusive weather phenomena: a sprite lightning bolt.The photo, snapped as the station passed over Mexico and the United States early this morning, shows a brilliant red flash—known as a sprite—illuminating the upper atmosphere above a thunderstorm.'Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the U.S. this morning, I caught this sprite,' astronaut Nichole 'Vapor' Ayers wrote, sharing the picture on social media.
The sprite is seen over Mexico and the US. (Photo: X/@Astro_Ayers)
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Sprites are a type of Transient Luminous Event (TLE), mysterious flashes of light that occur high above thunderstorm clouds. Unlike ordinary lightning, which strikes between clouds or from cloud to ground, sprites erupt in the thin air of the mesosphere, often appearing as red, jellyfish-shaped bursts or columns.They are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms far below.From their unique vantage point in orbit, astronauts have a clear, unobstructed view of these fleeting events—something rarely possible from the ground, where clouds and weather often block the view.The photo is already generating excitement among atmospheric researchers. Sprites remain one of the least understood types of lightning, and images like this help scientists study how they form and what role they play in Earth's upper atmosphere.Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the U.S. this morning, I caught this sprite.Sprites are TLEs or Transient Luminous Events, that happen above the clouds and are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below. We have a great view above the clouds, so pic.twitter.com/dCqIrn3vrA— Nichole 'Vapor' Ayers (@Astro_Ayers) July 3, 2025A similar event was seen a few years back over the Himalayas as amateur photographers captured the stunning event over the Tibetan Plateau. A research paper published recently detailed the image.Scientists found that these sprites were caused by powerful lightning strikes that hit the ground from the top of clouds.These strikes came from a huge thunderstorm system, called a mesoscale convective complex, which covered over 2,00,000 square kilometres from the Ganges Plain to the Tibetan Plateau.As space-based observations become more common, experts hope that more images like this will shed light on the secrets of Earth's most dramatic weather events, reminding us that even from space, our planet never ceases to amaze.- Ends