Sprites In The Sky Earlier This Year.

I have seen one of these once in my life and it was incredible. I am hoping to see more this year and maybe capture some photo's. This is not a too well known phenomenon so keep your eys peeled and you may be rewarded.

www.spaceweather.com...

SPRITE SEASON BEGINS: The first sprites of summer are starting to appear in the skies of North America. The strange thing is, summer is almost three months away.

And here is how they are caused.

Sprites are electrical discharges that come out of the top of thunderclouds, opposite ordinary lightning bolts which plunge toward Earth. Sprites can tower as high as 90 km above ground. That makes them a form of space weather as they overlap the zone of auroras, meteors, and noctilucent clouds.

Because they are associated with lightning, sprites are most often seen in summer months, "but in the past few days sprites have been reported in Texas (particularly near the Mexican border) as well as here in New Mexico," notes Ashcraft.

They are a real treat to the eye. I had never heard of them before this thread.

Check these ones out, kind of eerie in a way.

reply to post by murkraz


Pretty cool. Nature sure does do some strange things though doesn't it? I can't wait until the day I can photograph one for myself.

they are really cool.

en.wikipedia.org...(lightning)

Sprites are large-scale electrical discharges that occur high above thunderstorm clouds, or cumulonimbus, giving rise to a quite varied range of visual shapes flickering in the night sky. They are triggered by the discharges of positive lightning between an underlying thundercloud and the ground

. Sprites appear as luminous reddish-orange flashes. They often occur in clusters within the altitude range 50–90 km above the Earth's surface. Sporadic visual reports of sprites go back at least to 1886, but they were first photographed on July 6, 1989 by scientists from the University of Minnesota and have subsequently been captured in video recordings many thousands of times.

Sprites are sometimes inaccurately called upper-atmospheric lightning. However, sprites are cold plasma phenomena that lack the hot channel temperatures of tropospheric lightning, so they are more akin to fluorescent tube discharges than to lightning discharges.

discharge right at the bottom of the ionosphere. some think effects like this happen around " haarp and weather activity "

Holy s! I thought you could only see sprites if you were above the clouds! Amazing!

Originally posted by omegacorps
they are really cool.

en.wikipedia.org...(lightning)

Sprites are large-scale electrical discharges that occur high above thunderstorm clouds, or cumulonimbus, giving rise to a quite varied range of visual shapes flickering in the night sky. They are triggered by the discharges of positive lightning between an underlying thundercloud and the ground

. Sprites appear as luminous reddish-orange flashes. They often occur in clusters within the altitude range 50–90 km above the Earth's surface. Sporadic visual reports of sprites go back at least to 1886, but they were first photographed on July 6, 1989 by scientists from the University of Minnesota and have subsequently been captured in video recordings many thousands of times.

Sprites are sometimes inaccurately called upper-atmospheric lightning. However, sprites are cold plasma phenomena that lack the hot channel temperatures of tropospheric lightning, so they are more akin to fluorescent tube discharges than to lightning discharges.

discharge right at the bottom of the ionosphere. some think effects like this happen around " haarp and weather activity "

edit on 31-3-2012 by omegacorps because: (no reason given)

Whats with you and HAARP?

Since they have eyes and faces, and don't look that nice I'll reserve my judgment on that. Alot of strange things in this world, I just send them Love and a Call to Happiness and to go back home. Take that photo and use dodge or burn tools on it and that will pop out immediately. They seem like real sprites alright.

reply to post by mileysubet


i have been waiting for it to come around an heat my above ground pool.

reply to post by usmc0311


They go where the connection is...

There is a electrical connection to earth so the lightning connects from cloud to earth or earth to cloud...

If they are shooting up....they are shooting towards a connection.

Maybe outerspace is a lot more electrical than we think.

reply to post by usmc0311


These are amazing, S&F!

I had never heard of these, and I frequent spaceweather quite often. Thanks for introducing me to something new!

It really makes me think about past civilizations witnessing these events and being totally in awe, or not quite understanding what it was they were viewing. Then it makes me realize that the things we don't quite understand yet will probably be explained and discussed like this in future generations. Amazing to think about!

Originally posted by jacktorrance
reply to post by usmc0311

 

These are amazing, S&F!

I had never heard of these, and I frequent spaceweather quite often. Thanks for introducing me to something new!

It really makes me think about past civilizations witnessing these events and being totally in awe, or not quite understanding what it was they were viewing. Then it makes me realize that the things we don't quite understand yet will probably be explained and discussed like this in future generations. Amazing to think about!

I know right. I was watching Gods And Generals the other day And during the part where the Northern Lights were seen over the battlefields it made me wonder what they thought of it. I'm sure many thought it was a sign from the gods. I didn't learn what they were until I saw one out in the western US. Words can't describe what it looked like in person. I only hope I can view another one in my lifetime and have a camera close by at the time.

Amazing, and beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

reply to post by usmc0311


I am always looking to the sky because I love things like this.
Unfortunately, I have only seen the northern lights one time and they were only a solid, deep red color. But it was amazing.

I was in HS and had heard that we might have a chance to view them (very rare for the southeast part of the country I'm in) and I woke up around 2 AM to simply sit and watch the sky. The next morning, as soon as I got to school I practically tackled my Earth and Space Science teacher and said "DID YOU SEE THE LIGHTS LAST NIGHT?!?"

The other day I finally saw a sun halo for the first time in person. I've seen loads of sun dogs and some sun pillars but it was my first sun halo. It was beautiful!

See those lights below the 'sprites'?

Same colour.

I think this is probably a lens flare.

Here is a diagram to show just how and whare to look for them.
spaceweather.com...

reply to post by usmc0311


fantastic

thx for posting the pic up. It is great... I just wonder how many people, if they didn't know what it was...would think it to be a UFO?

s & f

Sprites are neat

so is spaceweather no wonder some G:LP dudes was copying with theweatherspace.com? Forgot who...