Thursday, March 24, 2005
Sprite Hunting
Lightning sprites, faint, colorful and exceedingly brief flashes of light that shoot up above thunderheads as high as 50 miles, have been long veiled in mystery. They've been reported by pilots and flyers, but since they last only a few miliseconds they've never been filmed or photographed.
Now researchers at Stanford University say they've captured a few sprites on film in the skies above New Mexico. They posted the image online. The recording, made with a fast telescopic video camera, shows dynamic bead and streamer formations looking very much like the skies over Baghad a couple years ago.
Previous research by Duke University scientists has linked sprite development to powerful thunderstorms and strong cloud-to-ground lightning bolts.
Most often, sprites evolve quickly in a "very causal" way, according to Duke's Steven Cummer, "when an exceptional lightning burst builds up a high-altitude electric field sufficient to spawn a second spark, which turns into a sprite."
Now researchers at Stanford University say they've captured a few sprites on film in the skies above New Mexico. They posted the image online. The recording, made with a fast telescopic video camera, shows dynamic bead and streamer formations looking very much like the skies over Baghad a couple years ago.
Previous research by Duke University scientists has linked sprite development to powerful thunderstorms and strong cloud-to-ground lightning bolts.
Most often, sprites evolve quickly in a "very causal" way, according to Duke's Steven Cummer, "when an exceptional lightning burst builds up a high-altitude electric field sufficient to spawn a second spark, which turns into a sprite."
