Researchers say the growing stream of observations is helping them understand how storms push energy higher into the atmosphere, where it can affect aircraft, communications, and even the chemistry of the air we all breathe. So what else is hiding above a storm that we never see from the ground?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lightning that goes up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
TLEs are short-lived flashes that happen above thunderstorms, sometimes tens of miles above Earth. That is far above the clouds where most lightning lives, in thin air that is hard to study from the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read More: The Arctic mystery that had puzzled oceanographers for 40 years now has an explanation, and it is not wind force<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nThey come in several types with nickname-style names, including red sprites, blue jets, and ELVES, which can spread out as a ring of optical and ultraviolet light near the bottom of the ionosphere. Many were once pilot stories because they are so fast and easy to miss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why orbit makes a difference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
From low Earth orbit, the space station has a clear view above storm systems, without clouds blocking the line of sight. It is like watching fireworks from a balcony instead of from the street, because you can see what happens above the main burst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The station also carries cameras and sensors built for extreme timing. Those details can be matched with lightning detections from the ground, which helps researchers connect what they see from space with what is happening inside the storm below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A storm hunter named ASIM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
One key tool is the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor<\/a>, known as ASIM, mounted outside the Columbus laboratory module since April 2018. Built by the European Space Agency, it was designed to watch elusive flashes that happen above thunderstorms.<\/p>\n\n\n\nAn official space station research summary says TLEs can disrupt communication systems and pose a threat to aircraft and spacecraft. The same summary points to ASIM-based work on ELVES and brief corona discharges, tiny electrical bursts near cloud tops, used to learn how lightning starts and how storms affect the upper atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In everyday terms, that upper region includes the ionosphere, a charged layer that can change how radio waves travel over long distances. So these flashes are not only a sky show \u2013\u00a0they sit right where some of our technology lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"International](\"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/iss-solar-panels-earth-orbit-view-from-space-station.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
Solar panels aboard the International Space Station stretch across the frame as Earth\u2019s curved horizon and cloud systems appear below.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe “gigantic jet” moment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
On July 3, 2025, astronaut Nichole Ayers photographed a rare upward lightning event now identified as a gigantic jet<\/a>, after it was first mistaken for a sprite. <\/p>\n\n\n\nGigantic jets can act like an electrical bridge from storm tops around 12 miles up to the upper atmosphere around 62 miles up. Burcu Kosar, principal investigator of the Spritacular project, described it as a rare catch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sprites and jets can look similar in a single photo, but they form in different ways. Sprites tend to appear much higher and often follow powerful lightning, while jets rise straight from the storm itself, carrying charge upward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thor-Davis turns lightning into slow motion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Another station experiment, called Thor-Davis<\/a>, uses an event camera behind the station\u2019s windowed cupola. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRead More: The \u201cpink fairy\u201d has reappeared in a reserve in Mendoza, and its return confirms that an ecosystem that seemed silent still held an extraordinary surprise<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nIt can capture the equivalent of 100,000 images per second on only a few watts, and it has recorded red sprites about 25 to 50 miles up, including one estimated at about 9 by 16 miles in size. “The Davis camera works well and gives us the high temporal resolution necessary to capture the quick processes in the lightning,” said Olivier Chanrion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Researchers can compare these space recordings with laboratory tests that recreate parts of lightning in plasma, a hot, electrically charged gas. Over time, that could improve tools that track severe electrical storms, which matter for everything from flight routes to protecting long power lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gamma rays hiding inside storms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Not all lightning-related events show up as visible color. Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes <\/a>are ultra-short bursts of high-energy radiation that originate in storm regions and may deliver a meaningful dose to a nearby aircraft, even though the science still has open questions about where and how often that exposure might happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOne project tied to the station is Light-1<\/a>, a small CubeSat released from orbit in 2022 that focuses on detecting terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. A separate 2022 announcement about the mission says it launched in cooperation with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and aims to improve understanding of how these emissions can affect aircraft and other flying vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow risky are these events in real life? A 2009 University of Florida report said estimates suggest a worst-case close encounter could deliver radiation comparable to about 400 chest X-rays, but it also stressed that how often planes get close enough is still a big unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why this matters on the ground<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
For most people, the practical concern is not seeing a sprite with your own eyes. It is understanding the part of the atmosphere where long-distance radio signals travel and where some aircraft operations take place, so unexpected electrical disturbances can become a safety and reliability issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is also a climate angle that researchers are still working through. A 2020 report from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia says some cold electrical discharges in clouds can trigger chemical reactions that produce nitrous oxide and ozone, both of which matter for how the atmosphere traps heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nRead More: I retired with more money than I ever imagined I\u2019d have, but I discovered that what disorients a person most isn\u2019t stopping work, but waking up to a life in which no one seems to need anything from her anymore<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nAt the end of the day, the space station is turning a once-rare curiosity into a growing dataset. Each new pass over a storm adds another clue to how Earth\u2019s weather connects to the upper atmosphere, even when the flash itself lasts less time than a blink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main official release has been published by NASA Science<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most of us know lightning as a bright crack below the clouds, followed by a rumble that can shake a … <\/p>\n
An official space station research summary says TLEs can disrupt communication systems and pose a threat to aircraft and spacecraft. The same summary points to ASIM-based work on ELVES and brief corona discharges, tiny electrical bursts near cloud tops, used to learn how lightning starts and how storms affect the upper atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In everyday terms, that upper region includes the ionosphere, a charged layer that can change how radio waves travel over long distances. So these flashes are not only a sky show \u2013\u00a0they sit right where some of our technology lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On July 3, 2025, astronaut Nichole Ayers photographed a rare upward lightning event now identified as a gigantic jet<\/a>, after it was first mistaken for a sprite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gigantic jets can act like an electrical bridge from storm tops around 12 miles up to the upper atmosphere around 62 miles up. Burcu Kosar, principal investigator of the Spritacular project, described it as a rare catch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sprites and jets can look similar in a single photo, but they form in different ways. Sprites tend to appear much higher and often follow powerful lightning, while jets rise straight from the storm itself, carrying charge upward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another station experiment, called Thor-Davis<\/a>, uses an event camera behind the station\u2019s windowed cupola. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It can capture the equivalent of 100,000 images per second on only a few watts, and it has recorded red sprites about 25 to 50 miles up, including one estimated at about 9 by 16 miles in size. “The Davis camera works well and gives us the high temporal resolution necessary to capture the quick processes in the lightning,” said Olivier Chanrion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Researchers can compare these space recordings with laboratory tests that recreate parts of lightning in plasma, a hot, electrically charged gas. Over time, that could improve tools that track severe electrical storms, which matter for everything from flight routes to protecting long power lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not all lightning-related events show up as visible color. Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes <\/a>are ultra-short bursts of high-energy radiation that originate in storm regions and may deliver a meaningful dose to a nearby aircraft, even though the science still has open questions about where and how often that exposure might happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One project tied to the station is Light-1<\/a>, a small CubeSat released from orbit in 2022 that focuses on detecting terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. A separate 2022 announcement about the mission says it launched in cooperation with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and aims to improve understanding of how these emissions can affect aircraft and other flying vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How risky are these events in real life? A 2009 University of Florida report said estimates suggest a worst-case close encounter could deliver radiation comparable to about 400 chest X-rays, but it also stressed that how often planes get close enough is still a big unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For most people, the practical concern is not seeing a sprite with your own eyes. It is understanding the part of the atmosphere where long-distance radio signals travel and where some aircraft operations take place, so unexpected electrical disturbances can become a safety and reliability issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is also a climate angle that researchers are still working through. A 2020 report from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia says some cold electrical discharges in clouds can trigger chemical reactions that produce nitrous oxide and ozone, both of which matter for how the atmosphere traps heat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of the day, the space station is turning a once-rare curiosity into a growing dataset. Each new pass over a storm adds another clue to how Earth\u2019s weather connects to the upper atmosphere, even when the flash itself lasts less time than a blink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main official release has been published by NASA Science<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Most of us know lightning as a bright crack below the clouds, followed by a rumble that can shake a … <\/p>\n
Solar panels aboard the International Space Station stretch across the frame as Earth\u2019s curved horizon and cloud systems appear below.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe “gigantic jet” moment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Thor-Davis turns lightning into slow motion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Read More: The \u201cpink fairy\u201d has reappeared in a reserve in Mendoza, and its return confirms that an ecosystem that seemed silent still held an extraordinary surprise<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Gamma rays hiding inside storms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why this matters on the ground<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Read More: I retired with more money than I ever imagined I\u2019d have, but I discovered that what disorients a person most isn\u2019t stopping work, but waking up to a life in which no one seems to need anything from her anymore<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n