A picture taken from the International Space Station (ISS) shows a red sprite over Mexico and the U.S. on July 3. (Nichole Ayers/NASA via SWNS)
By Dean Murray
An astronaut has captured an incredible burst of electricity above Earth.
NASA's Nichole Ayers managed to snap a phenomenon called a red sprite from the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday (3 July).
NASA's Nichole Ayers aboard the International Space Station. (NASA via SWNS)
The American spacewoman said:
"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."
(Nichole Ayers/NASA via SWNS)
"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."
Red sprites are large-scale, luminous electrical discharges that occur high above thunderstorm clouds, typically at altitudes between 50 and 90 kilometers (31–56 miles) in the mesosphere, the third layer of Earth's atmosphere, situated above the stratosphere and below the thermosphere.
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