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A gigantic jet caught on camera: A spritacular moment for NASA astronaut

9 days ago
https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/a-gigantic-jet-caught-on-camera-a-spritacular-moment-for-nasa-astronaut-nicole-ayers/
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  • #NASA
  • #Atmospheric Phenomena
  • #Transient Luminous Events
  • NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers captured a rare gigantic jet, a type of Transient Luminous Event (TLE), from the International Space Station on July 3, 2025.
  • Gigantic jets are powerful electrical discharges extending from thunderstorm tops into the upper atmosphere, creating a bridge between clouds (~20 km) and the upper atmosphere (~100 km).
  • Unlike sprites, which are more common TLEs appearing as reddish glows high above thunderstorms, gigantic jets burst upward directly from thundercloud tops.
  • Sprites form independently in the mesosphere (~80 km above Earth) and can resemble jellyfish, columns, or carrots, sometimes accompanied by other TLEs like Halos or ELVEs.
  • The Spritacular project encourages public submissions of TLE photos to aid scientific research on these atmospheric phenomena.
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