Red Sprites over Italy | Earth Science

Red Sprites over Italy | Earth Science

You know what comes out of the bottom of a thundercloud—lightning. However, do you know what comes out of the top? The answer is sprites. Sometimes when an especially fierce lightning bolt connects with the ground, a corresponding discharge leaps from the top of the cloud toward space. These "sprites" are red, fleeting, and they tend to come in bunches.

On Aug. 29th, 2025, Giacomo Venturin of Monte Tomba, Italy, photographed a bunch of sprites dancing over a storm cell 300 km away:

"The clear sky allowed me to observe several red sprites across the border in Austria," says Venturin. "This one was generated by a lightning strike that occurred not far from Klagenfurt."

"Last night, a relatively close thunderstorm and the clear sky allowed me to observe several red sprites. In this photo, you can see one of the brightest ones, generated by a lightning strike that occurred not far from Klagenfurt. Canon Eos 60D, Samyang 35mm f/1.4 - 2" at 6400 ISO"

Although sprites have been seen, off and on, for at least a century, most scientists did not believe they existed until after 1989 when sprites were photographed by cameras onboard the space shuttle. Now "sprite chasers" routinely photograph sprites from their own backyards. Give it a try.

Red Sprites: These mysterious bursts of light in the upper atmosphere momentarily resemble gigantic jellyfish. One unusual feature of sprites is that they are relatively cold. They operate more like long fluorescent light tubes than hot compact light bulbs. In general, red sprites take only a fraction of a second to occur and are best seen when powerful thunderstorms are visible from the side.

Learn more here: https://uhu.epss.hu/en/tle-phenomena/

Image Credit: Giacomo Venturin

Giacomo's website: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100006703219182
Text Credit: Spaceweather[dot]com
Capture Location: Monte Tomba, Italy
Capture Date: Aug. 29, 2025

#NASA #Science #Planets #Earth #Atmosphere #Thunderstorms #Lightning #Sprites #TLE #Photography #MonteTomba #Italy #Italia #GiacomoVenturin #Photographer #CitizenScience #STEM #Education