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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. They are usually triggered by the discharges of positive lightning between an underlying thundercloud and the ground.
The lightning that triggered it was in Polverigi, AN, Italy, at a distance of 285 km. Its strength, estimated at about 410 kA (kilo-Ampère), which is an order of magnitude stronger than a normal lightning (10 to 30 kilo-Ampère), generated an intense electromagnetic pulse. The red ring marks where the pulse hit the Earth's ionosphere.
Lightning primarily occurs when warm air is mixed with colder air masses, [21] resulting in atmospheric disturbances necessary for polarizing the atmosphere. [22] The disturbances result in storms , and when those storms also result in lightning and thunder, they are called a thunderstorm .
The rare form of lightning known as a sprite is only visible for milliseconds. Skip to main content. Sign in. Mail. 24/7 Help. For premium support please call: 800-290-4726 more ways ...
The Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM), dedicated to measuring simultaneously optical signals of lightning and signals of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, revealed that TGFs are usually associated with optical flashes, strongly suggesting that relativistic electrons as precursors of TGFs are produced in the strong electric fields in the ...
"Lightning increases the atmosphere's ability to cleanse itself," the researchers wrote in the study. Many are familiar with the potentially deadly hazards posed by lightning, which is blamed for ...
Atmospheric optics is "the study of the optical characteristics of the atmosphere or products of ... Upper-atmospheric lightning, including red sprites, Blue jets ...
Illustration of St. Elmo's fire on a ship at sea Electrostatic discharge flashes across the windscreen of a KC-10 cockpit.. St. Elmo's fire (also called witchfire or witch's fire) [1] is a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a corona discharge from a rod-like object such as a mast, spire, chimney, or animal horn [2] in an atmospheric electric field.