Sprites. No, we're not talking about fairies or soda today.
Sprites are huge bursts of red light that form high in Earth's atmosphere,
above thunderstorms.
They're large scale electrical discharges of air that form after a powerful
lightning blast.
They come in various shapes and sizes,
sometimes looking like a huge red jellyfish glowing in the night sky.
Unlike hot lightning, sprites are relatively cool
and best viewed from hundreds of miles away from a thunderstorm.
They're fairly elusive, and it can be hard to predict where
and when a sprite will appear.
The first sprite was only captured on film in 1989.
However, eyewitness reports date back almost a century.
So we're still learning more about what causes them
and how they influence Earth's upper atmosphere.
In fact, anyone who captures pictures of sprites from the ground
can submit their images to help scientists
study sprites and other similar phenomena.
And by the way, it's not just Earth. The Juno mission
predicts that sprites could exist in Jupiter's atmosphere as well.
Jupiter's hydrogen rich atmosphere would likely make sprites appear blue.