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Look down
Sensitive storm-chasing equipment on the International Space Station caught a dazzling light show on video as it observed the electrical activity of a thunderstorm from above.
The recordings, which were captured by the European Space Agency’s Atmosphere-Space Interaction Monitor (ASIM), help reveal the origin of lightning and even how storms can distribute greenhouse gases throughout the world. atmosphere, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal. Nature.
But just as importantly, the orbital view offers a really, really cool look at lightning storms – from a vantage point you’ve never seen before.
Blue lightning
The video, which can be found in a press release from the European Space Agency, shows an unusual phenomenon called blue jets – blue-colored lightning bolts that shoot storm clouds upwards in the most areas. elevated levels of the stratosphere.
Then, after a few quick flashes of light, the video shows what scientists call “elves,” or rings of electrical activity that erupt from a storm in the ionosphere. Seeing blue jets and elves from space is difficult because they pass by so quickly, and spotting them from Earth is almost impossible due to the cloud cover.
Take Myth
The inherent difficulty in even spotting these light shows, as their mythological names suggest, makes them extremely difficult to study and understand. But now, with these ASIM recordings, scientists are starting to understand what is really going on in the upper atmosphere.
“This article is a very impressive moment of the many new phenomena observed by ASIM above thunderstorms,” said Astrid Orr, coordinator of physical sciences at the European Space Agency in the press release, “and shows that we we still have so much to discover and learn about our universe. “
READ MORE: Genesis of blue lightning in the stratosphere detected from the ISS [European Space Agency]
Learn more about storms: NASA detects bright flashes of light on Jupiter
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