Thunderstorms have a light show above the clouds: red sprites, fleeting electrical discharges that can look like glowing jellyfish. They last only milliseconds and occur far above ordinary thunderstorm clouds, sometimes around 80 kilometres up.

Footage from the International Space Station captured a sprite above Southeast Asia in April 2012. Its red tendrils are a brief atmospheric electrical discharge linked to powerful lightning below.

The red jellyfish above thunderstorms

A clearly visible jellyfish-shaped red sprite above distant mountains — Photograph by Stephen Hummel, featured by NASA Science / Spritacular. Original photograph.

Actual ISS footage: look for the brief red flash above the bright storm — NASA Earth Observatory; ISS Expedition 31 / NASA Johnson Space Center. Historic ground photograph: University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

The red jellyfish above thunderstorms

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