APOD: 2026 July 15 – Red Sprites in the Tatacoa Desert
Discover the cosmos!
Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2026 July 15
Red Sprites in the Tatacoa Desert
Image Credit & Copyright:
Mario Vargas
Text:
Keighley Rockcliffe
(NASA
GSFC,
UMBC CSST,
CRESST II)
Explanation:
Is there an angry
Sith
using
force lightning
in the
Tatacoa Desert?
This is not science fiction, but a
red sprite
with multiple
streamers!
Ordinary
lightning
occurs when thundercloud particles collide, lose their electrons, and build up negative charge at the cloud bottom. The cloud’s negative charge repels negative charge deeper into the Earth, leaving Earth’s surface positively charged. The
opposite charges attract,
reaching towards each other and superheating the air into a white strike of
plasma.
Red sprites
are
millisecond events triggered by
positive cloud-to-ground
lightning. They extend up into
the mesosphere where the air is too thin for
thunder.
Their red glow comes from heated
molecular nitrogen.
There are
several potential causes
for red sprites, including that the preceding
positive lightning exposes the negatively charged cloud core
to the positively charged upper atmosphere, allowing those charges to connect.
NASA’s Juno
has observed
sprites on Jupiter,
indicating that sprites occur on other planets!
Tomorrow’s picture: a galaxy bursting with excitement
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Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Amber Straughn
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