2023-12-29 12:18:43
Above thunderclouds, at an altitude of around 40 to 70 kilometers, huge electrical discharges regularly occur that can far exceed normal lightning bolts in size and intensity. The well-known light phenomena, photographed for the first time in 1989, have exotic names such as blue jets, red sprites and elves. Four years ago, an American amateur astrophotographer observed another strange glow in the upper atmosphere during a strong thunderstorm in Oklahoma.
The glow appeared in the mesosphere at an altitude of between 50 and 85 kilometers at the tip of a particularly energetic goblin flash, glowed green and lasted only a few hundred milliseconds. These “ghosts” have now been spotted several times, but until now little was known about their nature. Spanish scientists discovered the cause of the green ghosts when they examined such an event spectroscopically for the first time.
#clarified #mysterious #thunderstorm #glow #atmosphere