Additional Coverage:
- Astronaut photographs elusive luminous event from far above Earth (foxweather.com)
A stunning photo of a Transient Luminous Event (TLE) over Mexico and the Desert Southwest was captured this week by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Nichole “Vapor” Ayers shared the image on social media with an awestruck, “Just.
Wow.” Ayers spotted the unusual phenomenon, likely a “sprite” or possibly a “gigantic jet,” while orbiting above the region.
Both sprites and gigantic jets are types of TLEs, bright flashes of light occurring high above powerful thunderstorms. Sprites, triggered by positive cloud-to-ground lightning, appear red and last mere fractions of a second.
Gigantic jets, originating within a storm cloud’s anvil, extend up to the ionosphere. While both are difficult to observe from the ground, Ayers had a unique vantage point from 250 miles above Earth.
The image provides valuable data for scientists studying TLEs and their relationship to thunderstorms. Ayers explained the importance of such observations from the ISS, stating that the perspective allows scientists “to better understand the formation, characteristics, and relationship of TLEs to thunderstorms.”
The exact mechanisms that cause some lightning strikes to trigger sprites and jets remain an area of ongoing research. Other TLEs include phenomena known as elves, blue jets, and ghosts, all occurring high in Earth’s atmosphere.
Ayers is part of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-10 mission, which launched in March and is scheduled to continue through August. The crew is conducting hundreds of experiments aboard the ISS, including studies on material flammability and the effects of space on the human body.
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- Astronaut photographs elusive luminous event from far above Earth (foxweather.com)