Two Lightning Features Occur at the Same Time Captured by Hawaiian Telescope

Lightning strikes that are commonly seen on the ground are just one of many storm phenomena. Some of them happen in places that humans do not usually see, like the clouds above.

Lightning is a beautiful yet dangerous natural phenomenon that produces incredible lights. As long as the person is not near the vicinity seeing a lightning strike can be a truly spectacular experience.

But lightning also produces incredible sights in the space above the clouds that extend into the atmosphere in varying colors that cannot be seen n the ground.

The National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) released a new image capturing an incredible glimpse of two lightning strikes playing out at the same moment.

Two Lightning Features Occurring At The Same Time Captured By Hawaiian Telescope

(Photo : NOIRLab)
Lightning phenomena in the clouds near Hawaii's Mauna Kea. Photo Credits: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/A. Smith

Two Lightning Strikes Frozen in Time

The new image shared by NOIRLab showed two lightning phenomena that are frozen in time. It shows red sprites and blue jets of light on top of a white cloud directing its power skyward, BGR reported.

Looking at the photo, it looks like it was faked using photoshop as these phenomena are very rare. This is the first time that it was caught on camera and to see it happening from a spot on Earth is an especially rare event.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) can sometimes spot sprites and jets from 249 miles (402 km) above Earth.

NOIRLab said that the lightning in an image is overwhelmingly rare that some would think it is just special effects, but it is not. The photo is uploaded to the website with a zoomable version.

NOIRLab's education and engagement manager Peter Michaud said that the astronomers in nearby Hilo used the cameras of the telescope to remotely keep track of the bad weather in the area when it snapped this incredible photo. He added that the camera captures photos of the sky every 30 seconds.

"We've seen a few other instances of similar phenomena, but that was by the best example of a lightning sprite in the upper atmosphere," he told Business Insider.

ALSO READ: Magnificent Red Jellyfish Sprite Photographed During A Storm in Mount Locke

Red Sprites and Blue Jets

According to The Weather Channel, the photo was captured in July 2017 by the Gemini North telescope, which sits at an altitude of about 13,800 feet. The photo was featured on Wednesday, February 24, as NOIRLab's photo of the week.

The phenomena captured in the photo are a red sprite and a blue jet. These are two weather phenomena that have their distinctive bright colors of red and blue, respectively.

Additionally, the direction in which these two lightning strikes happen is also notable. Instead of lighting shooting down towards Earth, the red and blue lights shoot up from the top of the clouds and out toward space.

According to ScienceAlert, sprites and jets balanced out the positive electrical charge released when lightning strikes the ground by releasing equal and oppositely charged energy towards the sky. That means sprites and jets are electrical charges that balance the equation.

Stephen Hummel, a dark-skies specialist at McDonald Observatory who captured a spectacular image of jellyfish sprites on Mount Locke last year, said that sprites are more likely to be produced by a powerful storm and powerful lightning.