Atmospheric optics – The Watchers

Extremely rare gigantic jet captured from the International Space Station over Mexico and U.S. Southwest

Reet Kaur — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 19:39:00 +0000

An extremely rare gigantic jet, powerful bolt of upward lightning, was captured from the International Space Station as it soared above a thunderstorm over northern Mexico and the U.S. Southwest on July 3, 2025. The striking image, taken by NASA astronaut Nichole Vapor Ayers, shows the jet piercing into the ionosphere, offering a rare glimpse of one of Earth's most elusive atmospheric phenomena.

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One of the best-ever videos of highly elusive ‘blue jet’ lightning

Teo Blašković — Tue, 17 Aug 2021 13:02:00 +0000

Storm chaser Rob Neep recently captured one of the best-ever videos of a highly elusive transient luminous event called 'blue jets.' The jets formed over Sonora, Mexico on August 3, 2021, and were captured from St. David, Arizona. "I couldn't...

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Citizen scientists discover new, mysterious feature of aurora-like phenomenon STEVE

Julie Celestial — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 13:57:00 +0000

Citizen scientists have discovered that the aurora-like phenomenon called STEVE or Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement has a new feature-- small, green fence-like lights streaking through the atmosphere at 1 600 km/h (1 000 mph). STEVE is also a discovery...

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Rare noctilucent clouds appear during summer solstice over London, England

Julie Celestial — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 22:06:00 +0000

Rare noctilucent clouds (NLCs) put on a spectacular display over London, England, on June 21, 2020-- during the summer solstice. "Even the bright lights of the London Eye on the River Thames couldn’t drown out the display," said Phil Halper, a...

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Giant jellyfish red sprites captured over the Czech Republic

Julie Celestial — Mon, 15 Jun 2020 18:24:00 +0000

Giant red sprites resembling jellyfish were captured over the skies in the Czech Republic on June 13, 2020. According to SpaceWeather.com, sprite season is underway in Europe and more atmospheric bullseyes are in the offing. Czech photographer Daniel...

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Red sprites and airglow over West Texas

Julie Celestial — Mon, 18 May 2020 12:45:00 +0000

A large column of red sprites and airglow put on a fantastic display over West Texas on May 13, 2020. The phenomenon was captured by Stephen Hummel of the McDonald Observatory. A line of storms more than 161 km (100 miles) away generated the astonishing display in...

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First example of ‘double Gigantic Jet’ captured over Puerto Rico

Julie Celestial — Fri, 11 Oct 2019 01:43:00 +0000

A 'double Gigantic Jet' was captured over Puerto Rico on October 2, 2019, in what could quite possibly be the first record of this phenomenon. "In the past, I've captured Gigantic Jet events that split into two, but this is the first time I've...

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Very powerful explosions of light detected in Earth’s atmosphere, possibly a new physical phenomenon

TW — Sun, 17 Feb 2019 11:34:00 +0000

Russian Astro and Geophysics satellite named after 18th-century scientists Mikhail Lomonosov, also known as MVL-300, has reportedly detected a previously unknown physical phenomenon in the Earth's atmosphere. This space-based observatory was launched in 2016 in...

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Huge ELVE captured high above a thunderstorm over Russia

Teo Blašković — Sun, 19 Aug 2018 17:48:00 +0000

A 300 km (186 miles) wide ELVE was photographed hight above a thunderstorm in central Russia on August 16, 2018. This transient luminous event was recorded using a low-light video camera in the Russian town of Irbit, Sverdlovsk Oblast, by amateur astronomer Ilya...

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Severe thunderstorms produce furious outburst of sprites over central Europe

Teo Blašković — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 15:41:00 +0000

Powerful thunderstorms that hit parts of central Europe over the past couple of days produced a furious outburst of sprites. "It was unreal," Martin Popek, a well-known photographer of the upward directed bolts, told SpaceWeather.com. "I recorded more...

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