Rare 'Upper Atmosphere Lightning' Photographed From ISS

Take a look at what being called 'a stunning phenomenon,' captured in a photo taken from the International Space Station as it passed above a thunderstorm over Mexico and the American Southwest.

So what was it? 'A rare form of Transient Luminous Event (TLE) called a gigantic jet,' according to a new blog post at Notebookcheck.net:

A gigantic jet happens above thunderstorms, firing powerful bursts of electrical charge from the top of the thunderstorm (about 20 km [12.4 miles] above the ground) into the upper atmosphere (about 100 km [62.1 miles] above the ground). The upper part of gigantic jets produces red emissions identical to sprites [large-scale electric discharges above thunderclouds]. But while gigantic jets burst directly from the top of thunderstorms, sprites form independently, much higher in the atmosphere, appearing around 50 miles (80 km) above the Earth's surface.

'If ordinary lightning seems pretty ordinary, upper-atmosphere lightning is something else — an entire zoo of various upper-atmosphere electrical discharges,' writes the Severe Weather Europe site.
And NASA made a request in a new blog post this week to any aspiring citizen scientists. 'Have you captured an image of a jet, sprite, or other type of TLE? Submit your photos to Spritacular.org to help scientists study these fascinating night sky phenomena!'

Click here to see some of the photos from around the world that have already been uploaded and collected at Spritacular.org.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.