Red sprites: Rare phenomena seen glowing above Chile’s Atacama Desert

Red sprites were first photographically documented by accident by researchers at the University of Minnesota back in 1989.

Since then, they have been captured in images taken from the ground, the air — and even from the International Space Station (ISS).

They have also been blamed for otherwise inexplicable accidents that have struck high-altitude vehicles operating above thunderstorms.

In one such incident, for example, a NASA stratospheric balloon unexpectedly released its payload over Graham, Texas, while flying some 120,000 feet above a thunderstorm.

The investigation into the incident concluded that a “bolt of lightning” travelling upwards from the storm clouds was responsible for the incident — with experts retrospectively linking the accident to the red sprite phenomenon.

Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1662363/red-sprites-rare-phenomena-glowing-above-chile-atacama-desert-thundercloud