Brilliant Red Sprite Lightning Caught on Film
The elusive red lightning called sprites last less than a second. They form above the tops of thunderclouds, when lightning bolts trigger a burst of red light in electrically charged particles.
Because the storms that birth sprites also hide them from view, few sprites are seen from the ground. To better understand the phenomenon, scientists are hunting red sprites from the air.
University of Alaska, Fairbanks, graduate student Jason Ahrns captured stunning images of red sprites during several flights over the Midwest during the 2013 summer aboard the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Gulfstream V research plane.
The elusive red lightning called sprites last less than a second. They form above the tops of thunderclouds, when lightning bolts trigger a burst of red light in electrically charged particles.
Because the storms that birth sprites also hide them from view, few sprites are seen from the ground. To better understand the phenomenon, scientists are hunting red sprites from the air.
University of Alaska, Fairbanks, graduate student Jason Ahrns captured stunning images of red sprites during several flights over the Midwest during the 2013 summer aboard the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Gulfstream V research plane.
