A hidden storm show<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Transient luminous events, often shortened to TLEs, are brief flashes that appear above thunderstorms instead of below them. They include red sprites, blue jets, halos, ELVES, and gigantic jets, names that sound almost mythical but describe real electrical activity high in the atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read More: NASA engineers build a supersonic rotor for Mars, and carbon-fiber blades at JPL are already nearing Mach 1.08 in tests that push off-world flight to the edge<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nSprites usually appear as red, jellyfish-like flashes in the mesosphere, about 31 to 53 miles above Earth. Gigantic jets are different because they can rise from the top of a storm cloud toward the upper atmosphere, forming a temporary electrical bridge between the storm and near-space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why space matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
From the ground, these flashes are hard to catch. Clouds block the view, the events last only fractions of a second, and the sky must be clear above a distant storm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The International Space Station changes the game. Orbiting about 250 miles above Earth, it gives astronauts and instruments a clean view of storm tops<\/a>, where the usual weather map stops and the strange electrical story begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe ISS storm lab<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A key instrument is the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor, known as ASIM. Built for the European Space Agency and mounted outside the station\u2019s Columbus module in 2018, it studies lightning, TLEs, and terrestrial gamma-ray flashes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ASIM uses cameras, photometers, and X-ray and gamma-ray sensors to catch flashes too quick for many ground instruments. In practical terms, it is a storm lab bolted to the outside of the space station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blue jets and ELVES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
One ASIM study caught five intense blue flashes in the top of a storm cloud, including one that produced a blue jet<\/a>. ESA said blue jets can shoot upward from thunderstorms and reach about 31 miles into the stratosphere in less than a second.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThat same event also produced ELVES, which are fast-growing rings of optical and ultraviolet light near the lower ionosphere. That layer helps carry some radio signals, so a flash most people never see may still matter for communication on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Red sprites caught on camera<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Astronaut photography has become part of the science toolkit, too. NASA Earth Observatory reported that one station timelapse from June 26, 2024, captured a large sprite over a storm system as the ISS passed over northern Mexico and parts of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\nRead More: NASA satellite images reveal the massive scar left by Georgia wildfires, and a mix of extreme drought, high winds, and remnants of Hurricane Helene helps explain why it shows up from space<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen also photographed a red sprite through the station\u2019s Cupola during the Thor-Davis experiment. ESA said the Davis camera can capture the equivalent of 100,000 pictures per second, which is the kind of speed needed when the sky blinks and the moment is gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A clue for lightning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Why chase these flashes at all? One reason is that they may help scientists understand how lightning begins, a surprisingly stubborn mystery for something so familiar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NASA says ASIM data has helped show how lightning-like discharges at storm tops can create ELVES and influence the ionosphere. Other ASIM work has examined corona discharges<\/a>, which are brief electrical bursts near the tops of clouds that may help set the stage for ordinary lightning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.ecoticias.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/nasa-iss-sprites-gigantic-jets-lightning-space-1.jpg\" "\\"\\"")
NASA astronauts and the ASIM instrument are capturing elusive upper-atmospheric lightning, providing new insights into storm electrical activity.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat it means for aircraft<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Some thunderstorms also produce terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, bursts of high-energy radiation linked to lightning. NASA notes that these flashes can expose aircraft, aircraft electronics, and passengers to excessive radiation, which is why mapping them matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That does not mean every thunderstorm is a hidden radiation emergency. But it does mean pilots, aircraft designers, and weather agencies have a reason to care about events happening far above the cloud tops, especially near powerful storms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Small satellites join in<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency\u2019s Light-1 CubeSat<\/a> was deployed from the space station to test a compact system for detecting terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. Because these flashes are absorbed by the atmosphere, they are hard to detect from the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRead More: NASA says the \u2018God of Chaos\u2019 asteroid will pass closer than many satellites in 2029, and the rare flyby will be visible without a telescope<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nNASA says researchers plan to compare Light-1 data with ground observations and lightning maps. Over time, small satellites could help build a better three-dimensional picture of where these invisible bursts happen most often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
More than pretty pictures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
NASA\u2019s Spritacular project, led by Dr. Burcu Kosar, invites photographers to share images of sprites and other TLEs. After Ayers captured the July 2025 event, Kosar said she had caught \u201ca rare and spectacular form of a TLE\u201d from the station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the end of the day, these images are not just space-station eye candy. They help connect the storm you hear from your porch with radio signals, aviation safety, atmospheric chemistry, and the still-unfinished science of lightning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The main official work on the ASIM mission has been published in Space Science Reviews<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most of us know storms from the ground. The flash, the thunder, the rain on a window, and maybe a … <\/p>\n
The ISS storm lab<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A key instrument is the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor, known as ASIM. Built for the European Space Agency and mounted outside the station\u2019s Columbus module in 2018, it studies lightning, TLEs, and terrestrial gamma-ray flashes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ASIM uses cameras, photometers, and X-ray and gamma-ray sensors to catch flashes too quick for many ground instruments. In practical terms, it is a storm lab bolted to the outside of the space station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blue jets and ELVES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
One ASIM study caught five intense blue flashes in the top of a storm cloud, including one that produced a blue jet<\/a>. ESA said blue jets can shoot upward from thunderstorms and reach about 31 miles into the stratosphere in less than a second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That same event also produced ELVES, which are fast-growing rings of optical and ultraviolet light near the lower ionosphere. That layer helps carry some radio signals, so a flash most people never see may still matter for communication on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Astronaut photography has become part of the science toolkit, too. NASA Earth Observatory reported that one station timelapse from June 26, 2024, captured a large sprite over a storm system as the ISS passed over northern Mexico and parts of the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen also photographed a red sprite through the station\u2019s Cupola during the Thor-Davis experiment. ESA said the Davis camera can capture the equivalent of 100,000 pictures per second, which is the kind of speed needed when the sky blinks and the moment is gone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why chase these flashes at all? One reason is that they may help scientists understand how lightning begins, a surprisingly stubborn mystery for something so familiar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NASA says ASIM data has helped show how lightning-like discharges at storm tops can create ELVES and influence the ionosphere. Other ASIM work has examined corona discharges<\/a>, which are brief electrical bursts near the tops of clouds that may help set the stage for ordinary lightning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some thunderstorms also produce terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, bursts of high-energy radiation linked to lightning. NASA notes that these flashes can expose aircraft, aircraft electronics, and passengers to excessive radiation, which is why mapping them matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That does not mean every thunderstorm is a hidden radiation emergency. But it does mean pilots, aircraft designers, and weather agencies have a reason to care about events happening far above the cloud tops, especially near powerful storms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency\u2019s Light-1 CubeSat<\/a> was deployed from the space station to test a compact system for detecting terrestrial gamma-ray flashes. Because these flashes are absorbed by the atmosphere, they are hard to detect from the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NASA says researchers plan to compare Light-1 data with ground observations and lightning maps. Over time, small satellites could help build a better three-dimensional picture of where these invisible bursts happen most often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NASA\u2019s Spritacular project, led by Dr. Burcu Kosar, invites photographers to share images of sprites and other TLEs. After Ayers captured the July 2025 event, Kosar said she had caught \u201ca rare and spectacular form of a TLE\u201d from the station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the end of the day, these images are not just space-station eye candy. They help connect the storm you hear from your porch with radio signals, aviation safety, atmospheric chemistry, and the still-unfinished science of lightning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main official work on the ASIM mission has been published in Space Science Reviews<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Most of us know storms from the ground. The flash, the thunder, the rain on a window, and maybe a … <\/p>\nRed sprites caught on camera<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Read More: NASA satellite images reveal the massive scar left by Georgia wildfires, and a mix of extreme drought, high winds, and remnants of Hurricane Helene helps explain why it shows up from space<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
A clue for lightning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What it means for aircraft<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Small satellites join in<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Read More: NASA says the \u2018God of Chaos\u2019 asteroid will pass closer than many satellites in 2029, and the rare flyby will be visible without a telescope<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
More than pretty pictures<\/h2>\n\n\n\n