Speeding around the Earth at 28,000 km/h, NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers captured an incredible view of a phenomenon known as a red sprite. Here's the science behind this 'transient luminous event'.

High up in the atmosphere, near the boundary of space, a dazzling, fleeting flash of red sometimes briefly appears above a thunderstorm before evaporating away. These events, which occur far above ...

Thomas Pesquet, an astronaut on the ISS, photographed a flash of red light in the upper atmosphere. The phenomenon, called a sprite, can be seen above a thunderstorm. The picture is a "very rare ...

Red spites, a type of transient luminous event or TLE, appear in the upper atmosphere above a thunderstorm in Oklahoma in April 2025. Photograph by Paul Smith Our atmosphere is like one big electrical ...

An astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS) has snapped a picture of a rare and spectacular atmospheric phenomenon. NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick captured a form of lightning known as ...

Photographers in Tibet captured 105 red sprites above a single thunderstorm in South Asia—the highest number ever recorded in the region. Using star and satellite positions, scientists determined ...

When a thunderstorm recently lit up the night sky, cameras captured towering red shapes that looked uncannily like glowing jellyfish hanging above the clouds. The images raced across social media, and ...

Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work covers anything from archaeology and the environment to technology and culture. Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work ...

Giant red blobs, picket fences, upward branching carrots, and tentacled octopi - these are just a few of the phrases used to describe sprites - spectacular, eerie flashes of colored light high above ...

A photograph taken by NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick from the International Space Station shows mysterious blue orbs far below the station and dotting the air off the coast of South Africa. Among ...