Thunderstorms are savage natural phenomenon . Crackles of lightning and booms of boom reign over the airfoil of the Earth . However , something else occasionally floats ethereally above the tempest clouds : a short - hold out faery . These curious bursts of energy have been spotted not once , but twice in one eve by astronauts on the International Space Station ( ISS ) .
A sprite is a weak flash of light that seem above a electric storm . They are ordinarily cerise , with wispy Marxist or purple tendril that stretch downwardly toward the storm swarm . Their red color is thought to befrom electronsin the vicinity being on the spur of the moment speed from the electrical charge from the storm . As the negatron whizz along around , they clash with atomic number 7 molecules in the air and ionize them . This process produces scarlet lighter .
The tendrils ' royal color , on the other handwriting , is call for to be because of cosmic rays being accelerated by the electric outpouring produced by the lightning storm , however , this is only a hypothesis .
But what have the sprites themselves ? scientist from the Florida Institute of Technologytheorizedthat sobriety wave create small perturbations in the atmosphere . These petty disturbances can grow the galvanic field produce by lightning , originate a sprite .
determine the sprites in the ISS photographs may seem a little bit like a plot of " Where ’s Waldo ? " In both , swooning red streaks will indicate what you ’re attend for . In this case you ’ll ascertain them just above bright electrical storm clouds , like a float red mark articulate " the thunderstorm is here ! "
On 10 August , astronaut on the ISS photograph one such fay float above a thunderstorm over Illinois or Missouri ( shown above ) . The ruby glow could be easily missed , outshone by many of the light on Earth as well as the Moon .
Photograph taken by ISS where a sprite can be found . ISS / JSC / NASA .
Then , three second later , they were lucky enough to snap another one above El Salvador . The sprite is roughly 100 kilometers ( 60 knot ) above the surface of the Earth , like a aglow Portuguese man-of-war . The golden maculation of light around the thundercloud are just from city lights breaking through the clouds .
It is often quite a challenge to see a faerie with the raw eye . Even though they are exceedingly luminous , they are brightest in theinfraredrange . They also only last a few milliseconds , so to photograph two in one evening is awesome .
Sprites are thought to have a disruptive effect on communication signaling , so understanding more about their mysterious nature could help alleviate these problems .
near up of sprite . ISS / JSC / ASA .
