Hunting for Sprites on a Midsummer’s Night

[Still Waters]

Every summer evening at 7 o'clock, Thomas Ashcraft receives a personalized weather report. It is monsoon season, and he is getting advice from a meteorologist in Colorado on where to look for the massive thunderstorms that erupt over the western High Plains.

Armed with sensitive cameras and radio telescopes, Mr. Ashcraft hunts for sprites - majestic emanations of light that flash for an instant high above the thunderheads, appearing in the shapes of red glowing jellyfish, carrots, angels, broccoli, or mandrake roots with blue dangly tendrils.

http://www.nytimes.c...mers-night.html

[rashore]

I had the honor of catching this phenomena a few weeks ago at my home.

I was leaving the upstairs apartment and looked to the north to see the most amazing sky display. It was perfectly clear and star studded skies over me, but a long line of display to the north, almost the full width of west to east sky. For all of it's lighting up, not a bit of thunder to be heard. Once I came inside and looked at the radar, discovered it was a particularly nasty line of storms 80 miles to the north of me.

[Thorvir]

Too many trees here obscuring the horizon, and when a big enough storm gets close to overcome that, the clouds block everything else. Next year I'll keep a better look out for this, that would be something quite impressive to see!

[+susieice]

Never knew this happened before. I'm gonna keep an eye out too.

[+Hammerclaw]

I saw this documentary about them, a while back. http://youtu.be/YpO2EZaAGNY