Watch: Rare 'space lightning' phenomenon isn't an alien invasion, but it sure looks like one
A mysterious red flash may look like an alien invasion, but the phenomenon is actually rare “space lightning" high above a distant thunderstorm.
Incredible 'red sprites' lightning captured above French mountain village
A weather photographer captured rare red sprites, powerful electrical discharges invisible to the naked eye, flashing high above a French mountain village on Sept. 16.
THE TAKEAWAY
- A photographer captured rare red sprites over a French village.
- The brief, red-colored flashes are usually invisible to the naked eye.
- Sprites can form towering columns, branching tendrils and jellyfish-like shapes.
MONTEMAGGIORE, France – It's not an alien invasion, but it sure looks like one.
French photographer Florian Riou captured a scene resembling the villain in a superhero movie in Montemaggiore, France, as red "space lightning" solemnly struck above a French mountain village in September.
Invisible to the naked eye, red sprites are large electrical discharges, usually seen from 30 to 50 miles in altitude in the upper atmosphere, that flash above powerful thunderstorm systems, the European Space Agency said.
Sprites are brief flashes of electricity that occur high above thunderstorms. (@florian.riou via Storyful / FOX Weather)
Jaw-dropping viral video footage from Riou captures the red sprites as they flash for milliseconds, casting a nightmarish scene over the night sky for a brief moment, resembling a Hollywood blockbusters version of an extraterrestrial invasion.
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Riou said he captured the red sprites in France, on September 16, "after days of calculations and planning."
Sprites are a type of transient luminous event that, unlike regular lightning, do not travel from cloud to ground.
On Sept. 16, red sprites briefly flashed above Montemaggiore, France, illuminating the night sky. The mesospheric phenomenon lasted only milliseconds — too brief and faint for the naked eye to detect, but captured on camera. (@florian.riou via Storyful / FOX Weather)
They form when powerful lightning below, often positive cloud-to-ground strikes, produces an electrical field that triggers a discharge way above Earth’s surface, NOAA said.
The sprites glow red when the electrical discharge excites molecular nitrogen in the thin upper atmosphere, according to the University of Washington.
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Sprites can appear as towering columns, carrot-shaped flashes or giant jellyfish, with tendrils branching downward through the sky.