Latest news with #TransientLuminousEvents
Time of India
7 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
Red 'sprite' in space: Nasa astronaut shares elusive atmospheric phenomena; aids TLE research
Sprite captured by Nichole Ayers (Image credits: X @Astro_Ayers) While orbiting high above North America, NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers captured a rare sight- glowing red lights shimmering in Earth's upper atmosphere. The phenomenon, known as a Transient Luminous Event (TLE) or "sprite," appeared as a brief burst of red light above thunderstorms over Mexico and the United States. The rare phenomenon, known as a Transient Luminous Event (TLE), is called a sprite- a brief flash of red light that occurs high above powerful thunderstorms. These massive bursts of electrical energy can reach up to 100 kilometers above Earth's surface and consist of 'cold plasma,' more like the glow inside a fluorescent light tube than typical lightning. Due to their high altitude and short duration, sprites are rarely visible from the ground, making Ayers' space-based capture especially significant. Sharing the image on X, Ayers said, 'Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the U.S. this morning, I caught this sprite.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo 'Sprites are TLEs or Transient Luminous Events, that happen above the clouds and are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below,' she explained. Sprites have long fascinated scientists and pilots. These brief, jellyfish-shaped flashes shoot upward into the atmosphere and vanish in milliseconds. For nearly a century, pilots reported seeing them, but many scientists dismissed them as myths or optical illusions. That changed in 1989 when the first clear image of a sprite was accidentally captured on camera. According to Nasa, sprites occur when strong lightning discharges interact with Earth's ionosphere. As the discharge travels upward and hits nitrogen molecules, it produces a reddish glow. Sprites belong to a larger group of upper-atmosphere phenomena that includes blue jets and red elves. Users were both amazed and curious after seeing the post. One wrote,'Sprite.... one of the rarest of rare celestial phenomenon .' Another asked, 'How long do the sprites last? Is this a still shot taken from a video? What altitude did this one reach? The more we find out, it becomes obvious we know far less than we thought.'
New York Post
04-07-2025
- Science
- New York Post
Astronaut photographs elusive luminous event from far above Earth
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station has shared a striking photo of what is known as a Transient Luminous Event seen above a thunderstorm over Mexico and the Desert Southwest earlier in the week. NASA astronaut Nichole 'Vapor' Ayers posted the image on social media and said, 'Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the US this morning, I caught this sprite.' Advertisement Sprites are a type of TLE, which create brilliant flashes of light high above powerful thunderstorms and are difficult to observe from the ground. There is some debate on whether what she captured is surely a sprite or what is known as a gigantic jet – both are part of the TLE phenomena. According to NOAA, sprites are often triggered by positive cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, which produce an electric field that extends miles above a thunderstorm into the upper atmosphere. The phenomenon appears mostly red in color, lasts only a fraction of a second and occurs so high up in the atmosphere that it is rarely visible to the human eye – unless, of course, you are orbiting some 250 miles above Earth's surface. Advertisement 4 NASA astronaut Nichole 'Vapor' Ayers captured a Sprite above Earth from the International Space Station. via REUTERS 4 Nichole Ayers aboard the International Space Station in 2025. ISS/NASA / SWNS '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 scientists can use these types of pictures to better understand the formation, characteristics, and relationship of TLEs to thunderstorms,' Ayers explained on social media. Gigantic jets begin inside the anvil and reach through the cloud up to the ionosphere, which represents what Ayers might have witnessed. Advertisement Why some lightning bolts trigger sprites while others do not is still poorly understood by the scientific community. Other related phenomena include elves, blue jets and ghosts, all of which are known TLEs, and occur well above Earth's surface in the stratosphere, mesosphere and even the thermosphere. 4 The phenomenon appears mostly red in color, lasts only a fraction of a second and occurs so high up in the atmosphere that it is rarely visible to the human eye – unless, of course, you are orbiting some 250 miles above Earth's surface. via REUTERS 4 The International Space Station orbiting over Earth in November 2018. NASA / SWNS Advertisement Ayers is currently stationed aboard the ISS as part of NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 mission, which launched in March and is expected to remain in outer space through at least August. During the astronauts' time aboard the space observatory, the crew will conduct hundreds of scientific experiments, including testing the flammability of material and studies examining the physiological and psychological effects of space on the human body.
NDTV
04-07-2025
- Science
- NDTV
NASA Astronaut Captures Stunning 'Sprite' Light Show Above Earth's Atmosphere
A NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has captured a stunning image of glowing red lights in the Earth's upper atmosphere. The bright lights are associated with a phenomenon known as Transient Luminous Event (TLE), which was captured by Nichole Ayers while orbiting above Mexico and the United States. Sprites are a type of TLE, which create brilliant flashes of light high above powerful thunderstorms and are difficult to observe from the ground. "Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the US this morning, I caught this sprite," wrote Ms Ayers on X (formerly Twitter). "Sprites are TLEs or Transient Luminous Events, that happen above the clouds and are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below," she added. The NASA astronaut said they had a great view of the unique space phenomenon above the clouds which could help scientists "better understand the formation, characteristics, and relationship of TLEs to thunderstorms". 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… — Nichole 'Vapor' Ayers (@Astro_Ayers) July 3, 2025 A view of lightning that's nothing like what we see on the ground: crew observations and instruments on the @Space_Station can help us better understand the behaviors of storms. — NASA (@NASA) July 3, 2025 Social media reacts As the image went viral, social media users reacted in awe and expressed fascination at how nature can conjure such a spectacle. "Funny how we separate everything with borders when up there it's all one place," said one user while another added: "This is the best orbital sprite image I have ever seen." A third commented: "I simply cannot imagine how amazing it would be to see this sort of thing from the space station." As per NASA, the ISS crew members capture TLEs using wide focal lengths during Earth time-lapses. Instruments mounted outside the station, like Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM), can capture a range of data for researchers on Earth using cameras, photometers, X-ray and gamma-ray detectors.
India Today
04-07-2025
- Science
- India Today
Astronaut captures stunning pillar of light bolting into Earth from space
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 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) advertisement 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 are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms far 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 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 Wow. As we went over Mexico and the U.S. this morning, I caught this 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 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 found that these sprites were caused by powerful lightning strikes that hit the ground from the top of 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 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
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronaut photographs elusive luminous event from far above Earth
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station has shared a striking photo of what is known as a Transient Luminous Event seen above a thunderstorm over Mexico and the Desert Southwest earlier in the week. NASA astronaut Nichole "Vapor" Ayers posted the image on social media and said, "Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the U.S. this morning, I caught this sprite." Sprites are a type of TLE, which create brilliant flashes of light high above powerful thunderstorms and are difficult to observe from the ground. There is some debate on whether what she captured is surely a sprite or what is known as a gigantic jet - both are part of the TLE phenomena. See Renderings Of Space Station To Be Built Around The Moon According to NOAA, sprites are often triggered by positive cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, which produce an electric field that extends miles above a thunderstorm into the upper atmosphere. The phenomenon appears mostly red in color, lasts only a fraction of a second and occurs so high up in the atmosphere that it is rarely visible to the human eye - unless, of course, you are orbiting some 250 miles above Earth's surface. "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 scientists can use these types of pictures to better understand the formation, characteristics, and relationship of TLEs to thunderstorms," Ayers explained on social media. Gigantic jets begin inside the anvil and reach through the cloud up to the ionosphere, which represents what Ayers might have witnessed. Why some lightning bolts trigger sprites while others do not is still poorly understood by the scientific community. Other related phenomena include elves, blue jets and ghosts, all of which are known TLEs, and occur well above Earth's surface in the stratosphere, mesosphere and even the thermosphere. See The Objects Humans Left Behind On The Moon Ayers is currently stationed aboard the ISS as part of Nasa's SpaceX Crew-10 mission, which launched in March and is expected to remain in outer space through at least August. During the astronauts' time aboard the space observatory, the crew will conduct hundreds of scientific experiments, including testing the flammability of material and studies examining the physiological and psychological effects of space on the human article source: Astronaut photographs elusive luminous event from far above Earth
