At first glance at this photo, you’d be forgiven for mistaking it as a firework display in the night sky.
But the ‘ fireworks ’ in the image are actually red sprites - large but weak flashes of light that appear directly above an active thunderstorm system.
The stunning photo was snapped by photographer Stephane Vetter, and has been featured as NASA ’s Astronomy Picture of the Day.
NASA explained: “A sensitive video camera on a summit of the Vosges mountains in France captured these surprising fireworks above a distant horizon on June 26.
“Generated over intense thunderstorms, this one about 260 kilometers away, the brief and mysterious flashes have come to be known as red sprites.
“The transient luminous events are caused by electrical breakdown at altitudes of 50 to 100 kilometers.
"That puts them in the mesophere, the coldest layer of planet Earth's atmosphere."
Red sprites are electrical discharges that can occur high above clouds during a thunderstorm.
They are usually triggered when a positively charged lightning bolt from a cloud below hits the ground.
Recorded sightings of the jelly-fish like sprites date back to at least 1886.
But the ‘ fireworks ’ in the image are actually red sprites - large but weak flashes of light that appear directly above an active thunderstorm system.
The stunning photo was snapped by photographer Stephane Vetter, and has been featured as NASA ’s Astronomy Picture of the Day.
NASA explained: “A sensitive video camera on a summit of the Vosges mountains in France captured these surprising fireworks above a distant horizon on June 26.
“Generated over intense thunderstorms, this one about 260 kilometers away, the brief and mysterious flashes have come to be known as red sprites.
“The transient luminous events are caused by electrical breakdown at altitudes of 50 to 100 kilometers.
"That puts them in the mesophere, the coldest layer of planet Earth's atmosphere."
Red sprites are electrical discharges that can occur high above clouds during a thunderstorm.
They are usually triggered when a positively charged lightning bolt from a cloud below hits the ground.
Recorded sightings of the jelly-fish like sprites date back to at least 1886.
Visit Stephane Vetter'S Blog: https://bit.ly/2Z5aC6l
Visit NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day: https://go.nasa.gov/3f78dxN
Music: 'Ginormous Robots' Nathan Moore by Youtube Music Library
Music: 'Ginormous Robots' Nathan Moore by Youtube Music Library
Source: The Sun, NASA, Wikipedia
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