Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2019 October 8
    [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest
                        resolution version available.

                           Sprite Lightning in HD
           Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Stephane Vetter ([4]TWAN)

   Explanation: This phenomenon occurs in the sky over our heads, not the
   sea. It is a type of lightning known as red sprite, and rarely has it
   ever been photographed in this detail. Even though sprites have been
   recorded for over 30 years, their root cause remains unknown. Some
   [5]thunderstorms have them, but most don't. These mysterious bursts of
   light in the upper atmosphere momentarily resemble [6]gigantic
   jellyfish. A few years ago [7]high speed videos were taken detailing
   how red [8]sprites actually develop. The [9]featured image was captured
   last month in high definition from [10]Italy. One unusual feature of
   [11]sprites is that they are relatively cold -- they operate more like
   long [12]fluorescent light tubes than [13]hot compact light bulbs. In
   general, red sprites take only a fraction of a second to occur and are
   [14]best seen when [15]powerful thunderstorms are visible from the
   side.

                        Tomorrow's picture: starburst
     __________________________________________________________________

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     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [27]Robert Nemiroff ([28]MTU) & [29]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([30]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [31]Specific rights apply.
              [32]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [33]ASD at [34]NASA / [35]GSFC
                           & [36]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/1910/SpritesHD_Vetter_1000.jpg
   3. https://www.facebook.com/stephane.vetter.nuitsacrees
   4. http://www.twanight.org/newTWAN/index.asp
   5. https://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/30oct_lightning.html
   6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jellyfish#mediaviewer/File:Largelionsmanejellyfish.jpg
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap141013.html
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(lightning)
   9. https://www.facebook.com/stephane.vetter.nuitsacrees/posts/2751990581478732
  10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy
  11. https://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/sprites.html
  12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamp
  13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescent_light_bulb
  14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190225.html
  15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap161205.html
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191007.html
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  20. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  25. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=191008
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191009.html
  27. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  28. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  30. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  32. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  33. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  34. https://www.nasa.gov/
  35. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  36. http://www.mtu.edu/