Red Sprite

Red Sprite:

The European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut photographed an uncommon occurrence termed a red sprite.

• Red sprite represents an extraordinary meteorological phenomenon categorized as a Transient Luminous Event (TLE).
• Sprite is also an acronym for Stratospheric/mesospheric Perturbations resulting from Intense Thunderstorm Electrification.
• Occasionally dubbed red lightning, it occurs above thunderclouds at altitudes between 40 and 80 kilometres (25 – 50 miles) above the Earth’s surface.
• Lightning flashes normally go downward from the clouds to the ground.
• A sprite goes in the other direction, going into the atmosphere, a bit like backwards lightning.
• It happens incredibly quickly in about a millisecond which can make it tricky for scientists to capture and observe them.
• Also, as the red sprites form above thunder clouds, they are not easily studied from Earth and are mostly seen from space.