The International Space Station detects blue “rays” that shoot up from thunder clouds that could affect greenhouse gas concentrations in the Earth’s atmosphere
- The phenomenon was detected by the ASIM device of the European Space Agency
- It is a collection of cameras, photometers and an X / gamma detector
- The blue ray was seen coming from a cloud over the peaceful island of Nauru
- He reached the stratosphere and was accompanied by a ring-like ‘elves’
- Understanding these phenomena could shed light on how lightning is formed
An instrument aboard the International Space Station has detected blue “rays” of lightning that shoot up from thunder clouds.
Measured by the European Space Agency’s atmosphere-space interaction (ASIM) monitor, the phenomenon originated at a cloud top over the peaceful island of Nauru.
It reached the stratosphere (experts believe blue jets can cover distances of up to 50 km) and lasted less than a second.
Because blue rays form above the cloud layer, they are very difficult to see – and study – from the earth’s surface.
Orbiting about 400 kilometers around the clouds, however, the International Space Station offers an unobstructed view.
Understanding the formation of blue rays and other energy phenomena in the stratosphere and at the top can reveal clues as to how lightning is triggered.
Experts also believe that blue rays may play a role in influencing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which studies will investigate further.
An instrument aboard the International Space Station has detected blue “rays” of lightning that shoot up from thunder clouds. Pictured is a photograph of a storm extracted from the ISS by astronaut Andreas Mogensen in 2015
ASIM, a collection of optical cameras and photometers, as well as an X-ray and gamma detector, was installed in 2018 at the International Space Station.
The monitor is designed for us to look for electrical discharges that originate in stormy weather conditions and that extend above the thunderstorms to the upper atmosphere.
The researchers reported that the blue ray recently detected by ASIM was initiated by an intense series of five 10-microsecond flashes.
The flash also generated so-called ‘elves’: expanding rings of optical and ultraviolet emissions that appear at the bottom of the ionosphere, about 80 kilometers from the earth’s surface.
They are made up of electrons and radio waves that interact with the atmosphere.
“Blue rays are atmospheric electric discharges similar to lightning several hundred milliseconds long that are made into cones as they propagate from the top of thunder clouds to the stratosphere,” the researchers wrote. in his article.
“They are believed to start in an electrical rupture between the positively charged upper region of a cloud and a negatively charged layer at the limit of the cloud and in the upper air,” they continued.
“The breakdown forms a leader that passes in serpentines when it propagates upwards. However, the leader’s properties and the altitude at which it extends above the clouds are not well characterized.”
Understanding the formation of blue rays and other energy phenomena in the stratosphere and at the top, as shown in the image, can reveal clues as to how lightning is triggered.
Measured by the European Space Agency’s atmosphere-space interactions monitor (pictured), the phenomenon originated in a cloud over the peaceful island of Nauru.
“This article is a highlight of the many new phenomena that ASIM is observing above thunderstorms,” said Astrid Orr, ESA’s physical science coordinator for human and robotic spaceflight.
‘[It] shows that we still have much to discover and learn about our Universe. ‘
“Congratulations to all the scientists and university teams who made this happen, as well as to the engineers who built the observatory and the field support teams that operated ASIM,” he continued.
The effort, he concluded, was “a real international collaboration that has led to amazing discoveries.”
The full findings of the study were published in the journal Nature.