What are lightning sprites?

Lightning sprites are large scale electrical discharges that occur high above the thunderstorm, about 50 miles (80 km) high in the sky.

These red sprites can range from 25-30 miles (40-50 km) with a lifetime of a couple of tenths of a second.

The first images of a lightning sprite or red sprite were accidentally taken in 1989 by some scientists from the University of Minnesota.

These reddish-orange luminous flashes are categorized into three types of sprites – Jellyfish sprite, Column sprite, and Carrot sprite due to their visual appearance which resembles Jellyfish, Column, and carrot.

Professor Atom

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Professor Atom is a science enthusiast and alumni of IIT Bombay. According to him, every question can be solved with curiosity and mind mapping. ( Curiosity = Asking Questions = Learning )

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