Have you ever heard of red lightning?
These incredible flashes, called “red sprites,” are electrical discharges that happen high above thunderstorms.
They look like glowing red jellyfish in the sky. Now, imagine seeing these rare lights over the tallest mountains on Earth—the Himalayas.
On May 19, 2022, two Chinese astrophotographers, Angel An and Shuchang Dong, captured an incredible display of over 100 red sprites above the Himalayas.
Their observation site was near Pumoyongcuo Lake, a sacred lake on the Tibetan Plateau. The images they captured showed a breathtaking event that fascinated scientists and the public worldwide.
Along with the red sprites, the photographers also recorded other rare atmospheric phenomena. These included “dancing sprites,” secondary jets, and, for the first time in Asia, “ghost sprites”—a green glow at the base of the nighttime ionosphere.
This discovery attracted global attention and was widely reported in major media.
A recent study published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences by Professor Gaopeng Lu and his team from the University of Science and Technology of China helped explain the cause of this spectacular event.
What causes red sprites?
According to the study, the red sprites were triggered by powerful cloud-to-ground lightning strikes.
These strikes occurred in a huge storm system stretching from the Ganges Plain to the southern foothills of the Tibetan Plateau.
The research showed that the Himalayas can generate some of the most complex and intense upper-atmosphere lightning in the world.
To accurately analyze the event, the scientists needed precise timing data. However, the original recordings didn’t have timestamps.
To solve this, the team developed a new method using satellite trajectories and star field analysis.
This technique allowed them to determine exactly when each sprite appeared and link it to its parent lightning strike. One of the study’s reviewers praised this method, suggesting it could be useful for citizen scientists making similar observations.
Why this discovery matters
The storm that created these sprites was one of the most active ever recorded in South Asia, with the highest number of sprites seen during a single thunderstorm.
The study showed that storms in this region can produce upper-atmospheric lightning similar to powerful storms in the U.S. Great Plains and Europe.
Even more exciting, the findings suggest that these storms could influence Earth’s atmosphere in unexpected ways. The red sprites and other discharges may have important physical and chemical effects that scientists are just beginning to understand.
This discovery opens new doors for studying the mysteries of lightning and the upper atmosphere, proving that even the most remote places on Earth can surprise us with their cosmic fireworks.
Source: Chinese Academy of Sciences.
