NASA has shared an image of rare ‘red sprites’ that closely resemble an alien invasion.
The red ray can be seen branching out like jellyfish or fireworks over a French mountain range.
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The incredible image was captured by photographer Stephane Vetter.
NASA revealed it as the astronomy image of the day for July 4.
NASA said: “A sensitive video camera on a summit in the Vosges mountains in France captured these striking fireworks over a distant horizon on June 26.
“Generated during intense thunderstorms, it is about 260 kilometers away, the brief and mysterious flashes have come to be known as red sprites.
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“Transient light events are caused by a power failure at altitudes of 50 to 100 kilometers.
“That puts them in the mesophere, the coldest layer of the planet Earth’s atmosphere.”
NASA also pointed out the faint silver lines you may have seen in the image.
The United States space agency explained: “On the right, the video frames have captured another summer appearance from the mesophere.
“The silver streaks of light are polar mesospheric clouds.
“Also known as noctilucent or night clouds, icy clouds still reflect sunlight when the Sun is below the horizon.”
NASA previously shared another image of the strange natural phenomenon that was also taken by Stephane Vetter.
That photo shows the red sprite beam in much more detail.
Red sprites are electrical discharges that can occur high above the clouds during a thunderstorm.
They usually fire when a positively charged lightning strike from a cloud below hits the ground.
Recorded sightings of jellyfish as sprites date back to at least 1886.
What causes lightning?
Here is everything you need to know …
- Lightning is a large flash or bolt of electricity caused by a thunderstorm.
- They are believed to kill between 75 and 100 unfortunate souls each year.
- The strikes are actually made up of frozen raindrops in the sky
- Inside thunder, pieces of ice collide with each other, forming an electric charge.
- After a while, the entire cloud fills up with electrical charges.
- These are divided into negatively charged electrons at the bottom of the cloud and positively charged protons at the top
- Finally, the cloud is discharged by sending a lightning strike to the ground
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What do you think of these lightning photos? Let us know in the comments …
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