NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, aboard the International Space Station, photographed an uncommon atmospheric phenomenon known as ‘red sprite’ lightning.
This event was captured on June 3, during a timelapse of a thunderstorm over South Africa. Dominick described the event as a fortunate capture, noting the eerie glowing red lights that appeared in Earth’s upper atmosphere.
The Nature of Red Sprites
Red sprites occur high above thunderstorms in the mesosphere, which extends up to 53 miles above the surface.
These are quick bursts of red light that stand out against the backdrop of space and can be challenging to capture due to their fleeting nature and rarity.
A Rare Glimpse from the ISS
The image taken by Commander Matthew Dominick showed vertical bursts of red energy off the coast of South Africa.
Capturing such phenomena requires precise timing and a bit of luck, as these events are transient and not well understood.
Sharing the Discovery
Following his observation, Dominick shared the image on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
He wrote, “Super lucky a few weeks ago when shooting a timelapse of a lightning storm off the coast of South Africa. One of the frames in the timelapse had a red sprite.” This post aimed to share the unique sighting with the public and fellow scientists.
Encouraging Public Participation
NASA has expressed hope that such images will motivate amateur skywatchers to participate in their citizen science project, Spritacular.
The project aims to collect photographs of sprites and other Transient Luminous Events to help scientists better understand these rare phenomena.
The Scientific Quest for Understanding
Dr. Burcu Kosar, the principal investigator for Spritacular, commented on the need for more widespread sharing of these phenomena, “People capture wonderful images of sprites, but they’re shared sporadically over the internet, most of the scientific community is unaware of these captures.”
She emphasized the project’s goal to bridge the information gap.
Insights from an Experienced Pilot
Dominick, who previously served as a naval test pilot and fighter pilot commander, shared his insights on capturing such phenomena.
He said, “If there are any red sprite experts out there I would enjoy tips on how to capture more of these,” adding, “Clearly, look for lightning storms, but I’m thinking the stronger the storm the better.”
Understanding Transient Luminous Events
NASA describes Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) as colorful bursts of energy that appear above storms due to lightning activity occurring within and below those storms.
These phenomena provide important clues about the interaction between Earth’s atmosphere and electrical storms.
Advanced Monitoring Equipment
The images of these high-altitude electrical discharges are typically captured using the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM), which is mounted outside the ISS.
ASIM includes cameras and a suite of sensors that collect data for scientific research, helping scientists study these atmospheric events more thoroughly.
Defining Red Sprites
Red sprites are brief, electrical bursts of light that appear above active thunderstorms.
They are visible from the D region of the ionosphere, just above the dense lower atmosphere. The phenomenon shows up as red at higher altitudes and can shift to blue at lower altitudes.
How Big Are Red Sprites?
Red sprites are also known as red lightning can happen above thunderclouds that are between 25 and 50 miles above the ground.
While normal flashes of lightening go downward from the clouds to the ground, sprites go in the opposite direction, reaching further into the atmosphere. It is essentially lightning that travels backwards. Red sprites appear and disappear in a matter of milliseconds, making it tricky to capture them.
The Historical Context
Although atmospheric sprites have been observed for nearly a century, their origins and mechanisms remain partly mysterious.
These phenomena are fleeting, lasting only a few milliseconds, and are considerably dimmer compared to typical forms of lightning.
Red Sprite Sightings Are Rare
Red sprites are not sighted very often. However, there have been instances of people snapping a photo of this phenomenon in the past. The last time was in Europe.
In December 2023, astronaut Andreas Mogensen from the European Space Agency took a photo of red sprites using a powerful camera as part of the Thor-Davis experiment at Danish Technical University.
New Territory for Scientists
While pilots have been observing red sprites on long-haul flights for decades now, they were only recorded for the first time in 1989.
They are rarely seen from the ground and are often described to look like an impending alien invasion. The red color in the sprites appear because of when the charge of the lightning meets nitrogen in the Earth’s atmosphere.
The Thor-Davis Experiment
The Thor-Davis experiment is studying lightning in the upper atmosphere and the effect it can have on the levels of greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming.
Scientists estimate that the red sprite pictured by Mogensen is roughly 8.7 by 16.2 miles in size. Olivier Chanrion, lead scientist for this experiment and DTU Space senior researcher said the “images taken by Andreas are fantastic”.
How the Photos Were Taken
If red sprites are so fleeting and they disappear in the blink of an eye, how are we able to take such photos of the phenomena with such high resolution?
In the case of Mogensen, he captured the sprite using an event camera. Rather than using the conventional shutter like on the cameras we use, this camera can produce around 100,000 images a second while using very little power.
The ESA astronaut shared the sighting on Instagram, racking up 133,000 views within six days.
Mogensen, the Danish commander of the International Space Station, returned to the satellite in August 2023 for his second mission, the six month-long Huginn mission. The caption read: “I had it slowed down a few times so you can really see the scale of it. The ‘stars you see in the video are dead pixels in the camera.”
How Lightning Happens
While it is rarely seen by us, red sprites occur more often than regular lightning that touches the Earth rather than staying between the clouds.
Lightning occurs between opposite charges within a thunderstorm cloud or between charges in the cloud and on the ground. “Most, if not all, lightning flashes produced by storms start inside the cloud,” says the U.S. National Severe Storms Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
An Emotional Achievement
While it is easier to catch a glimpse of red sprites at higher altitudes, Mogensen was proud to share his work on social media.
One of Mogensen’s captions reads: “Throughout my mission I have had the opportunity to sit in the Cupola both for science with the two Thor-Davis and EarthShine experiments… and in my spare time. It is a marvellous view I have from up here and I have tried to give a taste of it through these posts.”
Reactions on Social Media
Other users on social media have been blown away by Mogensen’s video. User sandyrederweis wrote: “Phenomenal, thank you for sharing it to us.”
User flocked to comment on Mogensen’s post in a mixture of both English and Danish. Another user commented “that’s wow but I would have passed out in space for being scared of the lightning”. Another commenter, jayjum, wrote: “Excellent! Safe travels back to Earth.
Invitation to Citizen Scientists
As the Spritacular project enters its third year, NASA continues to encourage amateurs to contribute to this exciting field of study.
By capturing and sharing images of red sprites and other related phenomena, citizens can play a crucial role in advancing our understanding of these atmospheric mysteries.
How Normal People Can Advance Science
Spritacular compiles people’s photography of TLEs to make the data more accessible for researchers. Citizen science could help get to the bottom of why red sprites occur and the impact they have.
Dr Burcu Kosar, a space physicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, said: “People capture wonderful images of sprites, but they’re shared sporadically over the internet and most of the scientific community is unaware of these captures.”
Innovative Research
Not only is the Spritacular project helpful for scientists to continue observing red sprites from all over the world, it is the first project of its kind.
Kosar said: “Spritacular will bridge this gap by creating the first crowdsourced database of sprites and other TLEs that is accessible and readily available for scientific research.” Kosar said the “whole field was kickstarted because a camera was pointed in the right direction at the right time”.
Questions Left Unanswered
While research continues with the help of scientists and citizens alike, there are still a lot of unanswered questions about red sprites.
We are still left wondering how often sprites occur and why they take those peculiar shapes, why they occur in that part of the atmosphere. Researchers remain curious about how sprites affect the Earth’s global electric circuit and their contribution to the energy in the atmosphere.
