Latest news with #TransientLuminousEvents
The Irish Sun
20-07-2025
- Science
- The Irish Sun
From remarkable ‘red lightning sprite' to once-in-a-lifetime comet – 7 breathtaking snaps captured by Nasa astronauts
FROM roiling storms, rare comets and volcanic eruptions, there is lots to see aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Fortunately, astronauts are not only equipped with suites of scientific instruments, but cameras too - so we at home can enjoy the view as well. Advertisement 7 A red lightning sprite was captured during a storm near the Texas-Mexico border Credit: Nichole Ayers/NASA Lightning sprite Nasa astronaut Nichole Ayers caught a phenomenon known as a sprite near the Texas-Mexico border from the ISS, some 250 miles above Earth. 'Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the US this morning, I caught this sprite," Ayers wrote on X earlier this month. "Sprites are TLEs or Transient Luminous Events, that happen above the clouds and are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below. "We have a great view above the clouds, so scientists can use these types of pictures to better understand the formation, characteristics, and relationship of TLEs to thunderstorms." Advertisement READ MORE ON SPACE Ayers snapped the picture with a Nikon Z9 using a 50mm lens (f/1.2, ¼ sec, ISO 6400) as part of a time-lapse set up in the Cupola - the domed window module on board the ISS. "It takes planning, timing, and a lot of pictures to capture such a rare phenomenon," she added. 7 Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Credit: Don Pettit/NASA 7 The icy comet seen alongside aurora Credit: SWNS Advertisement Once-in-a-lifetime comet Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS - dubbed the 'once-in-a-lifetime comet' - was photographed by Nasa astronaut Don Pettit from the ISS last autumn. Scientists at the Royal Astronomical Society dubbed it the "comet of the century" because of its brightness and rarity. Most read in Science The icy comet won't be visible on Earth again for another 80,000 years - making the sighting particularly rare. 7 These are two of Earth's most colorful upper atmospheric phenomena Credit: Nasa Advertisement Aurora meets airglow Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Tim Peake shared this snap or aurora - or Northern Lights - dancing near Earth's airglow in 2016. In his whopping 340 days in space, Kelly was able to provide some stunning images of Earth seen from above. These are two of Earth's most colorful upper atmospheric phenomena. The wavy green, red-topped wisps of aurora borealis appear to intersect the faint red-yellow band of airglow. Advertisement Though they appear at similar altitudes, aurora and airglow are different. Nighttime airglow - also known as nightglow - is a type of chemiluminescence that occurs all around the Earth, all the time. This is where light is emitted from chemical interactions between oxygen, nitrogen, and other molecules in the upper atmosphere. Auroras, on the other hand, are caused by charged solar particles colliding with Earth's atmosphere. Advertisement 7 The striking image was snapped by Nasa's Aqua satellite between June 22 and Dec. 31, 2023 Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Wanmei Liang and Lauren Dauphin 'Devil horned' volcano While technically snapped by data visualisers at Nasa's Earth Observatory, this "devilish" Russian volcano was captured spitting out a 1,000-mile-long stream of smoke into Earth's atmosphere. The striking image was snapped by Nasa's Aqua satellite between June 22 and Dec. 31, 2023. It was during an active eruption phase of the volcano, known as Klyuchevskoy or sometimes Klyuchevskaya Sopka - an area home to more than 300 volcanoes. Advertisement The two-pronged devil horns depict twin lava flows spewing out of the volcanoes mouth. 7 Astronauts Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang participate in an extravehicular activity, December 12, 2006 Credit: NASA Spacewalk The ISS has been orbiting Earth for nearly three decades, after first launching in November 1998. Astronauts have conducted 275 spacewalks since the station opened - one of the riskiest jobs an astronaut will ever undertake. Advertisement Backdropped by New Zealand and the Cook Strait in the Pacific Ocean, astronauts Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang participate in an extravehicular activity, December 12, 2006. Their job was to support the construction of the orbital outpost, and proved the source of quite the stellar image. 7 False-color images combine and rearrange colour channels from multiple sources to visualise new details Credit: Don Pettit/X Ganges river The Ganges river, the world's largest river delta, was photographed in near-infrared from the ISS by Pettit. Advertisement The ISS utilises near-infrared imagery for various scientific purposes, including atmospheric studies and Earth observation. It is key to capturing images of the Earth's airglow, clouds, and other surface features during nighttime. The end result are incredible false-colour images that show Earth in a completely new light. False-color images combine and rearrange colour channels from multiple sources to visualise new details. Advertisement These details are either things that cannot be seen by the human eye - or aspects that may be obscured in true colour images, such as healthy vegetation or different soil types. All you need to know about planets in our solar system Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all... How old is How many moons does What colour is How far away is How big is How many moons does Does How many moons does How big is How hot is the
Scottish Sun
20-07-2025
- Science
- Scottish Sun
From remarkable ‘red lightning sprite' to once-in-a-lifetime comet – 7 breathtaking snaps captured by Nasa astronauts
The icy comet won't be visible on Earth again for another 80,000 years - making the sighting particularly rare STARRY EYED From remarkable 'red lightning sprite' to once-in-a-lifetime comet – 7 breathtaking snaps captured by Nasa astronauts Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) FROM roiling storms, rare comets and volcanic eruptions, there is lots to see aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Fortunately, astronauts are not only equipped with suites of scientific instruments, but cameras too - so we at home can enjoy the view as well. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 A red lightning sprite was captured during a storm near the Texas-Mexico border Credit: Nichole Ayers/NASA Lightning sprite Nasa astronaut Nichole Ayers caught a phenomenon known as a sprite near the Texas-Mexico border from the ISS, some 250 miles above Earth. 'Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the US this morning, I caught this sprite," Ayers wrote on X earlier this month. "Sprites are TLEs or Transient Luminous Events, that happen above the clouds and are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below. "We have a great view above the clouds, so scientists can use these types of pictures to better understand the formation, characteristics, and relationship of TLEs to thunderstorms." Ayers snapped the picture with a Nikon Z9 using a 50mm lens (f/1.2, ¼ sec, ISO 6400) as part of a time-lapse set up in the Cupola - the domed window module on board the ISS. "It takes planning, timing, and a lot of pictures to capture such a rare phenomenon," she added. 7 Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Credit: Don Pettit/NASA 7 The icy comet seen alongside aurora Credit: SWNS Once-in-a-lifetime comet Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS - dubbed the 'once-in-a-lifetime comet' - was photographed by Nasa astronaut Don Pettit from the ISS last autumn. Scientists at the Royal Astronomical Society dubbed it the "comet of the century" because of its brightness and rarity. The icy comet won't be visible on Earth again for another 80,000 years - making the sighting particularly rare. 7 These are two of Earth's most colorful upper atmospheric phenomena Credit: Nasa Aurora meets airglow Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Tim Peake shared this snap or aurora - or Northern Lights - dancing near Earth's airglow in 2016. In his whopping 340 days in space, Kelly was able to provide some stunning images of Earth seen from above. These are two of Earth's most colorful upper atmospheric phenomena. The wavy green, red-topped wisps of aurora borealis appear to intersect the faint red-yellow band of airglow. Though they appear at similar altitudes, aurora and airglow are different. Nighttime airglow - also known as nightglow - is a type of chemiluminescence that occurs all around the Earth, all the time. This is where light is emitted from chemical interactions between oxygen, nitrogen, and other molecules in the upper atmosphere. Auroras, on the other hand, are caused by charged solar particles colliding with Earth's atmosphere. 7 The striking image was snapped by Nasa's Aqua satellite between June 22 and Dec. 31, 2023 Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/Wanmei Liang and Lauren Dauphin 'Devil horned' volcano While technically snapped by data visualisers at Nasa's Earth Observatory, this "devilish" Russian volcano was captured spitting out a 1,000-mile-long stream of smoke into Earth's atmosphere. The striking image was snapped by Nasa's Aqua satellite between June 22 and Dec. 31, 2023. It was during an active eruption phase of the volcano, known as Klyuchevskoy or sometimes Klyuchevskaya Sopka - an area home to more than 300 volcanoes. The two-pronged devil horns depict twin lava flows spewing out of the volcanoes mouth. 7 Astronauts Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang participate in an extravehicular activity, December 12, 2006 Credit: NASA Spacewalk The ISS has been orbiting Earth for nearly three decades, after first launching in November 1998. Astronauts have conducted 275 spacewalks since the station opened - one of the riskiest jobs an astronaut will ever undertake. Backdropped by New Zealand and the Cook Strait in the Pacific Ocean, astronauts Robert Curbeam and Christer Fuglesang participate in an extravehicular activity, December 12, 2006. Their job was to support the construction of the orbital outpost, and proved the source of quite the stellar image. 7 False-color images combine and rearrange colour channels from multiple sources to visualise new details Credit: Don Pettit/X Ganges river The Ganges river, the world's largest river delta, was photographed in near-infrared from the ISS by Pettit. The ISS utilises near-infrared imagery for various scientific purposes, including atmospheric studies and Earth observation. It is key to capturing images of the Earth's airglow, clouds, and other surface features during nighttime. The end result are incredible false-colour images that show Earth in a completely new light. False-color images combine and rearrange colour channels from multiple sources to visualise new details. These details are either things that cannot be seen by the human eye - or aspects that may be obscured in true colour images, such as healthy vegetation or different soil types. All you need to know about planets in our solar system Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all... How old is Earth? Plus other facts on our planet How many moons does Mercury have? What colour is Venus? How far away is Mars to Earth? And other facts on the red planet How big is Jupiter? How many moons does Saturn have? Does Uranus have rings? How many moons does Neptune have? How big is Pluto? How hot is the Sun?
Time of India
06-07-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Red 'sprite' in space: Nasa astronaut shares elusive atmospheric phenomena; aids TLE research
Sprite captured by Nichole Ayers (Image credits: X @Astro_Ayers) While orbiting high above North America, NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers captured a rare sight- glowing red lights shimmering in Earth's upper atmosphere. The phenomenon, known as a Transient Luminous Event (TLE) or "sprite," appeared as a brief burst of red light above thunderstorms over Mexico and the United States. The rare phenomenon, known as a Transient Luminous Event (TLE), is called a sprite- a brief flash of red light that occurs high above powerful thunderstorms. These massive bursts of electrical energy can reach up to 100 kilometers above Earth's surface and consist of 'cold plasma,' more like the glow inside a fluorescent light tube than typical lightning. Due to their high altitude and short duration, sprites are rarely visible from the ground, making Ayers' space-based capture especially significant. Sharing the image on X, Ayers said, 'Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the U.S. this morning, I caught this sprite.' by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo 'Sprites are TLEs or Transient Luminous Events, that happen above the clouds and are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below,' she explained. Sprites have long fascinated scientists and pilots. These brief, jellyfish-shaped flashes shoot upward into the atmosphere and vanish in milliseconds. For nearly a century, pilots reported seeing them, but many scientists dismissed them as myths or optical illusions. That changed in 1989 when the first clear image of a sprite was accidentally captured on camera. According to Nasa, sprites occur when strong lightning discharges interact with Earth's ionosphere. As the discharge travels upward and hits nitrogen molecules, it produces a reddish glow. Sprites belong to a larger group of upper-atmosphere phenomena that includes blue jets and red elves. Users were both amazed and curious after seeing the post. One wrote,'Sprite.... one of the rarest of rare celestial phenomenon .' Another asked, 'How long do the sprites last? Is this a still shot taken from a video? What altitude did this one reach? The more we find out, it becomes obvious we know far less than we thought.'
New York Post
04-07-2025
- Science
- New York Post
Astronaut photographs elusive luminous event from far above Earth
An astronaut aboard the International Space Station has shared a striking photo of what is known as a Transient Luminous Event seen above a thunderstorm over Mexico and the Desert Southwest earlier in the week. NASA astronaut Nichole 'Vapor' Ayers posted the image on social media and said, 'Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the US this morning, I caught this sprite.' Advertisement Sprites are a type of TLE, which create brilliant flashes of light high above powerful thunderstorms and are difficult to observe from the ground. There is some debate on whether what she captured is surely a sprite or what is known as a gigantic jet – both are part of the TLE phenomena. According to NOAA, sprites are often triggered by positive cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, which produce an electric field that extends miles above a thunderstorm into the upper atmosphere. The phenomenon appears mostly red in color, lasts only a fraction of a second and occurs so high up in the atmosphere that it is rarely visible to the human eye – unless, of course, you are orbiting some 250 miles above Earth's surface. Advertisement 4 NASA astronaut Nichole 'Vapor' Ayers captured a Sprite above Earth from the International Space Station. via REUTERS 4 Nichole Ayers aboard the International Space Station in 2025. ISS/NASA / SWNS 'Sprites are TLEs, or Transient Luminous Events, that happen above the clouds and are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below. We have a great view above the clouds, so scientists can use these types of pictures to better understand the formation, characteristics, and relationship of TLEs to thunderstorms,' Ayers explained on social media. Gigantic jets begin inside the anvil and reach through the cloud up to the ionosphere, which represents what Ayers might have witnessed. Advertisement Why some lightning bolts trigger sprites while others do not is still poorly understood by the scientific community. Other related phenomena include elves, blue jets and ghosts, all of which are known TLEs, and occur well above Earth's surface in the stratosphere, mesosphere and even the thermosphere. 4 The phenomenon appears mostly red in color, lasts only a fraction of a second and occurs so high up in the atmosphere that it is rarely visible to the human eye – unless, of course, you are orbiting some 250 miles above Earth's surface. via REUTERS 4 The International Space Station orbiting over Earth in November 2018. NASA / SWNS Advertisement Ayers is currently stationed aboard the ISS as part of NASA's SpaceX Crew-10 mission, which launched in March and is expected to remain in outer space through at least August. During the astronauts' time aboard the space observatory, the crew will conduct hundreds of scientific experiments, including testing the flammability of material and studies examining the physiological and psychological effects of space on the human body.
NDTV
04-07-2025
- Science
- NDTV
NASA Astronaut Captures Stunning 'Sprite' Light Show Above Earth's Atmosphere
A NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has captured a stunning image of glowing red lights in the Earth's upper atmosphere. The bright lights are associated with a phenomenon known as Transient Luminous Event (TLE), which was captured by Nichole Ayers while orbiting above Mexico and the United States. Sprites are a type of TLE, which create brilliant flashes of light high above powerful thunderstorms and are difficult to observe from the ground. "Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the US this morning, I caught this sprite," wrote Ms Ayers on X (formerly Twitter). "Sprites are TLEs or Transient Luminous Events, that happen above the clouds and are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below," she added. The NASA astronaut said they had a great view of the unique space phenomenon above the clouds which could help scientists "better understand the formation, characteristics, and relationship of TLEs to thunderstorms". Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the U.S. this morning, I caught this sprite. Sprites are TLEs or Transient Luminous Events, that happen above the clouds and are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below. We have a great view above the clouds, so… — Nichole 'Vapor' Ayers (@Astro_Ayers) July 3, 2025 A view of lightning that's nothing like what we see on the ground: crew observations and instruments on the @Space_Station can help us better understand the behaviors of storms. — NASA (@NASA) July 3, 2025 Social media reacts As the image went viral, social media users reacted in awe and expressed fascination at how nature can conjure such a spectacle. "Funny how we separate everything with borders when up there it's all one place," said one user while another added: "This is the best orbital sprite image I have ever seen." A third commented: "I simply cannot imagine how amazing it would be to see this sort of thing from the space station." As per NASA, the ISS crew members capture TLEs using wide focal lengths during Earth time-lapses. Instruments mounted outside the station, like Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM), can capture a range of data for researchers on Earth using cameras, photometers, X-ray and gamma-ray detectors.
