Natasha JayJul 4

A NASA astronaut has captured an electrifying image of Earth from space, featuring a gigantic, jellyfish-shaped "sprite" of red lightning shooting upwards above a thunderstorm in North America. The rare phenomenon is still poorly understood, despite being studied for more than 30 years.

Image credit: NASA/ISS/Nichole Ayers

https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/weather/astronaut-snaps-giant-red-jellyfish-sprite-over-north-america-during-upward-shooting-lightning-event

#NASA #Space

Show threadJustin DerrickJul 5
@Natasha_Jay Any idea what part they don't understand? We've had neon tubes for a hundred years already, and we know that high-energy particles is what gives us auroras...
Show threadgnarfJul 5
@JustinDerrick @Natasha_Jay We don't even fully understand how regular lightning works. We only really began understanding the charging mechanisms in the 2010s and it's still an open question as to what exactly triggers the initiation of the lightning strike.
Show threadConfused Middle Aged Dad
@gnarf @JustinDerrick @Natasha_Jay true for many areas of electrostatics. For everything that we do know there are still some fundamentals that are still being worked on
Jul 5 at 8:29amMoshidon