NASA Astronaut Captures Rare Red Sprite from ISS

NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers, part of the Crew-10 mission aboard the International Space Station, captured a rare image of a red sprite above a thunderstorm over Mexico and the southern United States. The sprite, a type of Transient Luminous Event (TLE), appeared as a jellyfish-shaped burst of red light caused by electrical activity in storms. Ayers' widely shared photograph is considered one of the best orbital images of a sprite and is significant for scientific research on TLEs and thunderstorms. Scientists use such images and data from ISS instruments like the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor to better understand these elusive phenomena. Sprites were first photographed on Earth in 1989 and continue to intrigue both researchers and the public. The summary no longer covers the meteor fireball in Scotland or noctilucent clouds in Ukraine.