Mysterious red sprite erupts in new astronaut photo
A US astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) recently caught a glimpse of one of Earth’s least understood atmospheric phenomena. While orbiting in the early hours of July 3, Nichole “Vapor” Ayers snapped a photo of a transient luminous event, as she passed over North America. Better known as a sprite, these atmospheric events are common after a lightning strike. “Just. Wow,” Ayers posted to social media later that day along with the stunning picture. 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… pic.twitter.com/dCqIrn3vrA— Nichole “Vapor” Ayers (@Astro_Ayers) July 3, 2025 Thunderstorms are capable of generating far more electrical activity than lightning alone. If a storm cell is particularly powerful, it can...