Extremely bright 'jellyfish' sprites easily visible with naked-eye over Colorado

Spaceweather.com
Mon, 25 May 2020 02:23 UTC

© Michael Gavan

Jellyfish Sprites on May 23, 2020 @ Bethune, Colorado

Have you ever seen a sprite? Some say it's impossible. The strange and fleeting forms of red lightning materialize above thunderheads, usually disappearing again in less time than it takes to blink. Yet storm chaser Michael Gavan had no trouble seeing these on May 23rd.

"Extremely bright 'jellyfish' sprites were easily visible naked-eye through evening twilight!"says Gavin. "This is a framegrab of the brightest one I managed to capture with my astrophotography-modified Canon T3i."

Gavin saw the display from northwestern Kansas. "Clear skies to the northwest afforded fantastic views of an MCS (Mesoscale convective system) moving through the Nebraska panhandle," he says. Over the weekend, a low pressure system got stuck in the area, producing ferocious electrical storms with abundant lightning and sprites.

Solar Minimum could be boosting sprites. During this low phase of the solar cycle, cosmic rays from deep space flood into the inner solar system relatively unimpeded by the sun's weakening magnetic field. Some models hold that cosmic rays help sprites get started by creating conductive paths in the atmosphere. If so, now is a good time to look for sprites.

Comment: Less than two weeks ago giant red sprites flashed so brightly over Texas they also could be observed without special equipment.

With the surge in sightings of red sprites in recent years (which are still considered 'rare' by some) it seems the electrical nature of our weather and changing atmosphere is becoming more apparent:

• Changing atmosphere: Red sprites and a blue jet seen above Europe's stormy skies
• Photographer captures yet another photo of 'rare' red sprites - in skies above Oklahoma
• Strange skies: Red Sprites in Oklahoma, aurora Steve in Canada, iridescent clouds in Illinois and noctilucent clouds in Denmark
• Rare red sprites in action: Mysterious electric tendrils lighting up the sky over Oklahoma filmed
• Unusual outburst of red sprites during storm over Europe, and cosmic ray mapping expands
• 'Strange' Arctic rainbow and red 'summer' sprites in winter - rare atmospheric events on the increase
• Our changing atmosphere: Stunning iridescent cloud over Mexico, complex solar halo over Russia and a triple rainbow over Norway

For more, check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Earth changes in an electric universe: Is climate change really man-made?