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Space & Astronomy

ISS records 'blue jet' lightning from space

By T.K. Randall
January 25, 2021 · Comment icon 2 comments

The phenomenon is nothing if not spectacular. Image Credit: YouTube / European Space Agency
Scientists have recorded footage of a spectacular natural phenomenon that is only clearly visible from space.
Filmed from high above the clouds through cameras aboard the International Space Station, this impressive form of lightning - which appears as a blue vertical column - is usually hard to see.

This particular example, which can be seen in the video below, was captured on February 26th, 2019 shooting out of a thunderstorm cell above the small Pacific island of Nauru.
It was preceded by five distinct flashes lasting mere milliseconds and accompanied by tiny flashes of ultraviolet light - a phenomenon known as 'Elves' (Emissions of Light and Very Low Frequency Perturbations due to Electromagnetic Pulse Source.)

According to scientists, the blue jets themselves occur when a cloud's positively-charged upper region interacts with the negatively-charged boundary between the cloud and the air above it.

There is however still much to learn about this intriguing, yet mysterious phenomenon.



Source: Live Science | Comments (2)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by David Thomson 3 years ago
The blue jet is nowhere near as interesting as the planet-wide burst of light that occurred near the edge of space with its expanding circle centered around the blue jet!
Comment icon #2 Posted by Nosy.Matters 3 years ago
So -- a positive puff comes along and promptly . . ZAP ! ⚡ *lightning_emoti*


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