Red spites, a type of transient luminous event or TLE, appear in the upper atmosphere above a thunderstorm in Oklahoma in April 2025. Photograph by Paul Smith Our atmosphere is like one big electrical ...

A rare and visually stunning electrical phenomenon lit up the skies over North America earlier this week, as NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers captured a dramatic image of a giant red lightning sprite from ...

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, currently stationed on board the International Space Station, shared an incredible image of a sprite — a rare weather phenomenon that’s triggered high above the clouds by ...

Nichole 'Vapor' Ayers took the photo as the ISS passed over the US and Mexico on July 3, 2025. “Just. Wow,” Ayers posted to social media later that day along with the stunning picture. Just. Wow. As ...

“As we went over Mexico and the U.S. this morning, I caught this sprite,” the former collegiate volleyball player said Ayers is aboard the International Space Station as pilot of SpaceX Dragon’s ...

Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work covers anything from archaeology and the environment to technology and culture. Tom has a Master's degree in Journalism. His editorial work ...

Giant red blobs, picket fences, upward branching carrots, and tentacled octopi - these are just a few of the phrases used to describe sprites - spectacular, eerie flashes of colored light high above ...

Sprites “are transient luminous events” that “are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms,” astronaut Nichole Ayers said NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, 36, captured a transient ...