A mesmerising image has been captured in the skies of Texas showing a 'red electric jellyfish' firing its tentacles across the sky. The image which was shared online got people to talking as to what actually caused the amazing phenomenon. Many even suggested that it looked like something straight out of the hit TV show 'Stranger Things'.
These electric events are, in fact, known as 'sprites', and they are ultrafast bursts of electricity that occur around 35 to 50 miles above the ground. These events are not common and only last for a fraction of a second, but they are certainly not something you would ever forget.
These sprites occur when a lightning storm occurs at high-altitude and unlike in normal lightning events when the electricity can reach the ground and dissipate, the electricity instead fires between clouds causing the 'jellyfish' effect. Some can be seen as far as 300 miles away.
Stephen Hummel, of the McDonald Observatory, captured the image over Texas. He told Business Insider:
"Sprites usually appear to the eye as very brief, dim, grey structures. You need to be looking for them to spot them, and oftentimes I am not certain I actually saw one until I check the camera footage to confirm. Overall I've probably recorded close to 70 hours' worth of footage and stills this year, and caught about 70 sprites."
Amazingly, sprites had not been captured on camera until 1989. Since then, they have been captured on every continent, except Antarctica, and have been seen on numerous occasions by NASA astronauts working on space stations.
Multiple column sprites line up above an angel sprite in my last sprite lightning capture from the night of 4/17/2019 . An uncropped image on the 50mm about 20 minutes before being clouded over. Anadarko, Oklahoma. #okwx #APOD @JimCantore @emilyrsutton @MichaelSeger pic.twitter.com/gXNlPMKucZ
— Paul M Smith (@PaulMSmithPhoto) April 21, 2019
The name 'sprite' was coined by a professor of physics at the University of Alaska, Davis Sentman, who proposed the name due to its link with fairy-tales and mysticism. Sprites in European folklore were small fairy like creatures or ethereal entities, who were part physical and part supernatural. Sprite is, therefore, a fitting description for an event that certainly conjures up mystical images and awe.
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