Jul 4, 2025
Photo of a sprite above a thunderstorm taken July 3, 2025 by NASA astronaut Nicole Ayers from the International Space Station.
From Nicole Ayer's Instagram:
Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the U.S. this morning, I caught this sprite. Sprites are TLEs or Transient Luminous Events, that happen above the clouds and are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below. We have a great view above the clouds, so scientists can use these types of pictures to better understand the formation, characteristics, and relationship of TLEs to thunderstorms.
