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(ESA/NASA–T. Pesquet) |
On October 8, French astronaut Thomas Pesquet took a picture
from the International Space Station that was incredibly rare (ISS).
The photo, which is a single frame from a larger timelapse,
appears to show a cobalt bomb bursting over Europe, but the frightening blue
glow inflicted no damage. In fact, most people would have been completely
unaware of what was going on.
Instead, the image depicts a 'transient luminous event,'
which is a lightning-like occurrence that strikes upwards in the upper
atmosphere.
Transient luminous occurrences, often known as
upper-atmospheric lightning, are a group of related phenomena that occur during
thunderstorms but far above the level of typical lightning. While they are
connected to lightning, they operate in a slightly different manner.
There are 'blue jets,' which are caused by lightning and
occur lower in the stratosphere. If lightning strikes the negatively charged
(top) area of the thunderstorm clouds before impacting the positively charged
(bottom) region, the lightning strikes upwards, kindling a blue glow from
molecular nitrogen.
Then there are red SPRITES (Stratospheric/mesospheric
Perturbations Resulting from Intense Thunderstorm Electrification) in the
ionosphere – electrical discharges that often glow red and occur high above a
thunderstorm cell, triggered by disturbances from the lightning below – and
slightly dimmer red ELVES (Emission of Light and Very Low Frequency
Perturbations due to Electromagnetic Pulse Sources).
Following the theme, there are also TROLLs (Transient Red
Optical Luminous Lineaments), Pixies, and GHOSTS that appear after intense
SPRITES. The scientists must have had a great time naming all of these
phenomena.
What's remarkable about this lightning is that it was first
noticed anecdotally by pilots a few decades ago, and scientists were sceptical
that it existed, as Pesquet says in a photo caption.
After a few years, we can affirm that elves and sprites
exist, and that they may be influencing our climate as well!
Although Pesquet doesn't say which type of luminous event
we're witnessing, this image could be a 'blue beginning,' which is a blue jet
that doesn't quite make it to the jet part, instead producing a shorter and
brighter glow.
These events are especially difficult to photograph from the
ground because they occur at such a high altitude and are sometimes covered by
storm clouds. Furthermore, the occurrences normally only endure a few
milliseconds or seconds each time.
With all of this in mind, the ISS is an especially good spot
to look for these transient phenomena, especially if you use a timelapse
camera. So far, we've seen a few of these events captured by astronauts on the
International Space Station (ISS), as well as a few from the ground.
Researchers discovered that 'blue sprites' were also
occuring on Jupiter last year, indicating that Earth isn't the only place where
the light shows occur.
According to Pesquet, the Space Station is ideal for this
observatory since it sails above the equator, where there are more
thunderstorms.
This is an extremely rare occurrence, and we have a facility
dedicated to detecting these light flashes outside Europe's Columbus
laboratory.
We hope that our research will yield a plethora of further
images of this amazing phenomenon in the future!
Originally Published Here.
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