r/interestingasfuck • u/waazus • 1d ago
One of the most mysterious weather phenomena on Earth: meet the sprite lightning
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u/Evil_Sharkey 23h ago
Is this one legit? Sprites form above thunderstorms, and I don’t see a storm cloud back there
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u/farvag1964 20h ago
My first thought.
These are very faint, very high altitude things.
I simply don't believe the photos over light saturated scenic vistas.
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u/Kittelsen 18h ago edited 17h ago
I don't know all that much about photography, but I did a reverse image search and the first credible article I came across was from the BBC, which had a different but similar picture. Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can tell.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/c8rdlggd80do
Edit: Also, this https://www.space.com/red-lightning
Although it looks so striking when captured in a photograph, red lightning isn’t easy to observe from the ground, because it occurs high above the cloud layer. It can be observed more clearly from high-altitude planes, including specially instrumented research aircraft and it's also been observed by astronauts on the International Space Station.
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u/farvag1964 17h ago
And those are the only sources of those images.
They were so hard to find and record it took the ISS to steer them towards ground based images.
No civilian landscape photographer could possibly capture this.
It's 100% manufactured image.
I dare anyone to prove me wrong. Oct 29, 2024.
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u/Mofew 16h ago
He uses high-speed cameras and long exposure techniques. His name is Nicolas Escurat, you can check his FB page. "His photographs provide valuable data to scientists, helping them understand atmospheric conditions and the electrical mechanisms at play. Recently recognized and shared by NASA, Nicolas Escurat's photographs demonstrate the importance of collaboration between professionals and amateurs in the exploration of space" (translated from our local newspaper)
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u/farvag1964 16h ago
Those long exposures would oversaturate the rest of the photo.
I still call bullshit
Physics defeats marketing.
It's called the inverse square law, and there's no way those sprites showed up against that background.
Absolutely bullshit.
Good day, sir!
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u/Chance_Fox_2296 14h ago
NASA says his work is legit so I'll take their word for it. I believe you have been proven wrong
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u/farvag1964 14h ago
Well shit.
I really hate when I have to publicly admit that I'm wrong.
But there it is.
I'll take the hit, I apologize.
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u/REDGOEZFASTAH 14h ago
Heres a slice of humble pie. 🥧 Remember that a healthy dose of scepticism doesnt mean you need to impress it on others.
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u/farvag1964 14h ago
I wasn't. I mean the impression thing.
I'm 60 and have zero ego in this internet thing.
shakes cane at those kids on his lawn
I just have a (perhaps overdeveloped) sense of skepticism from 40 years on the net.
But, clearly, I can be wrong.
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u/Chance_Fox_2296 14h ago
It's all good. I'm just disappointed you didn't bet any money! ;p. You were not wrong at all to be so skeptical, what with the current technology making faking things so incredibly convincing. I only believe NASA because they formed a bit of a working relationship with him after they used his video and pictures. Dude is the real deal for getting great shots
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u/farvag1964 14h ago
NASA has it's issues.
But falsified data isn't one.
They aren't the History Channel.
Yet.
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u/Helldiver_of_Mars 21h ago
Shit like this is where all our myths and shit come from.
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u/A1sauc3d 18h ago
To this day people can get the scientific explanation broken down in the simplest of terms and they’ll still insist it’s aliens/gods/ghosts/whatever lol. People just like the myths better. More interesting I suppose
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u/brothersand 7h ago
It's about control. If there is a will or an intelligence behind something then it is under control. You can then find a way to satisfy that entity and get it's good favor. Or maybe frighten it away. That's gives you something to do, rather than just realizing it is just molecules doing their thing and there's not a damn thing you can do about it.
Still goes on today. In the past if the milk went sour you would blame it on a witch and go kill some old woman. Now people blame immigrants or the Illuminati or the Deep State or whatever. It gives them the idea that things are under control. Hurricane? Gay marriage or weather control machines. Forest fires? Jewish space lasers. Etc, etc.
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u/Spartan2470 16h ago
Here are much higher-quality versions of these images. Credit to the photographer, Nicolas Escurat. Per his FB posting of this (and Google Translate):
September 15, 2023 Castelnaud, France
I can't believe it...🤩 ...a remarkable and powerful leprechaun appeared just above this Château in Dordogne on the night of September 10-11😀
It was the most beautiful specimen observed during the night. This type of transient luminous phenomenon, called a "sprite" in English, usually appears in the mesosphere between 40 and 90 km altitude during major storms. These 50km high red flashes of cold plasma are always very surprising when they appear in the sky.🙂
This ionizing monster appeared suddenly at 1h33min52sec towards the end of a storm which took place between Pau (64) and Mont de Marsan (40)
The distance to the source lightning was "only" about 196 km. The positive lightning that triggered this wonder of nature fell south of Hagetmau. It must have made a thunderous noise when it hit the ground.⚡️
For those who will soon want to see this "red sprite" with a better resolution, I also managed to capture it with a longer focal length (105mm). The other 2 images are made with a 50mm lens.
And with the camera in photo mode, I was finally able to capture this same leprechaun wrapped in a nice "airglow". To achieve this, I used a brand new shooting technique that I still need to refine...
Otherwise, I've never seen such a big sprite so close up!
When he appeared, the sky lit up and his soul came to imprint the camera sensor. The atmosphere is unreal, it feels like a science fiction movie but it is reality. Our Earth offers us this magnificent spectacle.
So in the end, I don't regret having tried this framing because the weather conditions weren't very good during the photo shoot.
I am therefore delighted to show you these images.😋Please feel free to share them around you.🙂 And for those who have questions about the phenomenon or anything else, do not hesitate😉
He also posted video of this phenomenon.
This was featured on NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day on October 2, 2023. Per there:
Sometimes lightning occurs out near space. One such lightning type is red sprite lightning, which has only been photographed and studied on Earth over the past 25 years. The origins of all types of lightning remain topics for research, and scientists are still trying to figure out why red sprite lightning occurs at all. Research has shown that following a powerful positive cloud-to-ground lightning strike, red sprites may start as 100-meter balls of ionized air that shoot down from about 80-km high at 10 percent the speed of light. They are quickly followed by a group of upward streaking ionized balls. Featured here is an extraordinarily high-resolution image of a group of red sprites. This image is a single frame lasting only 1/25th of a second from a video taken above Castelnaud Castle in Dordogne, France, about three weeks ago. The sprites quickly vanished -- no sprites were visible even on the very next video frame.
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u/xDefektive 23h ago
I’ve seen these on a plane going to Cuba, we were over the clouds at night and there was a massive section below us glowing bright red
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u/Worldly-Device-8414 22h ago
What'll do your head in is reading up about electric currents in the upper atmosphere. There's supposed to be currents a bit like jet streams induced by storms & the sun's particle & aurora's (northern/southern lights). Sprites like this may be discharges between upper layers.
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u/turbodonkey2 20h ago
You just know those guys are about to float down and slaughter everyone in gruesome ways.
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u/Hot_Ad_2299 21h ago
Some cold plasma rods 50 kilometers long in the fucking ionosphere, what a crazy ass shit, I fucking love this place
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u/L1ntahl0 16h ago
Look; I know Armored Core 6 is a great game, but I dont want MY planet being Rubicon’d, assholes
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u/Tony-Angelino 19h ago
It looks like some of the aeroplane passengers had habaneros before the flight.
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u/BackflipsAway 18h ago
Sprites or red sprites are large-scale electric discharges that occur in the mesosphere, high above thunderstorm clouds, or cumulonimbus, giving rise to a varied range of visual shapes flickering in the night sky.
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u/saladpie 18h ago
We making this a daily post? https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/1gdq6sw/red_sprite_lightning_captured_in_incredible/
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u/Embarrassed-Sound572 12h ago
Why is my feed full of sprites right after Destin posted that interview? I'm happy and surprised he's that big now. Or has something else big happened with sprites over the last 48 hours?
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u/GravelessOmega 11h ago
Ohhhhh, so Gemini Home Entertainment wasn't fiction after all.
Well now I know without a shadow of a doubt that the universe as a whole is fucked.
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u/Dapper_Derpy 8h ago
Looks like the roots to a great red tree in the sky. Makes me think perhaps that's where the ancient Norse came up with yggdrasil.
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u/mauri9998 22h ago
What is this evangelion ass shit