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More Amazing High Speed Images and Video of Sprite Lightning

Monday, August 26, 2013 14:47

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(Before It's News)

Red sprite lightning seen over Nebraska on August 12, 2013. Credit and copyright: Jason Ahrns.

When we first checked in with graduate student and astrophotographer Jason Ahrns earlier this month, he had the chance to be part of an observing campaign to try and photograph red sprite lightning from the air. Using a special airplane from the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Aircraft Facility in Boulder, Colorado, Jason was part of a team that used high-speed video cameras and digital still cameras to learn more about this mysterious lightning. They flew over the central part of the US, such as over Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.

Named for the mythological sprites, which were known for being elusive, this lightning flashes quickly at high altitudes of 65-75 km (40-45 miles), but often as high as 90 km (55 miles) into the atmosphere. They are difficult to see from the ground, thus this airborne observing campaign.

Here are more images and video (some at 10,000 frames per second!) taken by Jason and his team:

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Read the rest of More Amazing High Speed Images and Video of Sprite Lightning (204 words)