NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick photographed rare red lightning sprites high above Earth’s upper atmosphere from the International Space Station (ISS).
The lesser-seen red lights are an elusive form of lightning that is discharged into the upper atmosphere. Scientists still don’t fully understand them but they occur some 50 miles above thunderstorms in the mesophere.
According to NASA, Dominick captured the red sprites just as he was flying over thunderstorms occurring off the coast of South Africa on June 3.
The photo showing the sprites was one frame in a timelapse (below) as Dominick was recording the lightning storm.
“Super lucky a few weeks ago when shooting a timelapse of a lightning storm off the coast of South Africa. One of the frames in the timelapse had a red sprite,” Dominick writes on X (formerly Twitter). “A rare event. My knowledge is pretty much just from Wikipedia but I want to know more.”
The astronaut also shared his settings and lens: A 50mm at f/1.2 and the camera’s shutter speed set at 1/5 of a second and ISO 3200.
“If there are any red sprite experts out there I would enjoy tips on how to capture more of these,” Dominick adds.
“Clearly, look for lightning storms, but I’m thinking the stronger the storm the better, and overwater might help see them better.”
Space physicist Dr. Burcu Kaur who specializes in sprites, tells the Daily Mail that he hopes photographers who capture sprites contribute them for study.
“People capture wonderful images of sprites, but they’re shared sporadically over the internet,” she says. “Most of the scientific community is unaware of these captures.”
Dr. Kaur works with Spiritacular; a citizen science project that aims to collect observations of sprites and other optical phenomena occurring above thunderstorms.
These events above lightning clouds are known collectively as Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) and they also include a very rare form of sprite called an ELVE.
Talented Astronaut Photographer
Earlier this week, PetaPixel spotlighted Dominick who has been capturing creative and beautiful photos onboard the ISS where he is stationed for the next few months.
Image credits: Photographs by NASA/Matthew Dominick.