Red Alien Spirits in the Sky (4 photos + video)

Red sprites are remarkable atmospheric phenomena that occur high above thunderclouds, at altitudes of approximately 50 to 90 kilometers. They appear as vertical or bifurcated red glows and are associated with lightning, particularly upper discharges in thunderclouds. They appear very quickly—just a millisecond after a lightning flash—and are often difficult to notice without specialized equipment due to their dim brightness. Red sprites are the result of strong electromagnetic fields generated by powerful thunderstorms, which excite ionization in the upper atmosphere. These phenomena are of interest to scientists because they help us understand the interactions between terrestrial electromagnetic processes and the upper atmosphere, and are also related to global electric fields. The study of red sprites is important for expanding our understanding of atmospheric dynamics and its electromagnetic processes.