Why do I see sprites?
Sprites or red 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 usually triggered by the discharges of positive lightning between an underlying thundercloud and the ground.
What is a sprite in the sky?
What exactly is a sprite? Sprites are rapid flashes of red light that occur high up in the mesosphere, over 50 kilometres above the ground. Similar to how lightning is an electrical discharge between a cloud and the ground, sprites are electrical discharges between the top of a thunderstorm and the upper atmosphere.
Where can you see sprites?
Sprites—The most common TLE is a luminous reddish-orange flash directly above large thunderstorms. Sprites flash a fraction of a second after strong lightning strokes, soaring up almost 60 miles high. They often occur in clusters above the troposphere and most frequently seen in the Midwest.
Can you see sprites?
If you see a thunderstorm in the distance late at night, look at the sky above the clouds and watch closely. You might just glimpse a sprite. Sprites are a type of transient luminous event, like lightning, but fainter, faster and significantly larger, Jessica Leigh Hester explains for Atlas Obscura.
Is a sprite a spirit?
A sprite is a spirit, a mythical, fairy-like creature who lives by the water. Sprites are supernatural and sometimes tricksy. Sprites are particularly common Western European folk tales, and one of the most famous literary sprites is Ariel from Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Are sprites real?
If you’re looking for sprites or elves dancing in the forest after dark, you might be disappointed—but in a way, they do exist. What are known as “sprites” and “elves” are actually Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) that emerge from the upper atmosphere when thunderstorms are brewing and lightning strikes.
Are sprites visible from the ground?
Since the 1989 video capture, sprites have been imaged from the ground, from aircraft and from space, and have become the subject of intensive investigations.
Are sprites evil?
According to the definition on Wikipedia, a sprite can be good or evil and a dwarf, ghoul, fairy, ghost or other: The term sprite is a broad term referring to a number of preternatural legendary creatures.
What are sprites in space?
A sprite seen from the International Space Station (top right, faint red above the lightning). Sprites or red sprites are large-scale electric discharges that occur high above thunderstorm clouds, or cumulonimbus, giving rise to a varied range of visual shapes flickering in the night sky.
What are lightning sprites?
Lightning sprites are electrical discharges high in Earth’s atmosphere. They’re associated with thunderstorms, but they’re not born in the same clouds that send us rain.
What is the history of sprites?
They were first documented photographically on July 6, 1989, when scientists from the University of Minnesota, using a low-light video camera, accidentally captured the first image of what would subsequently become known as a sprite. Several years after their discovery they were named sprites (air spirits) after their elusive nature.