APOD: 2019 February 25 - Red Sprite Lightning over Kununurra

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                               2019 February 25
                                      [2]
                     Red Sprite Lightning over Kununurra
                   Image Credit & Copyright: Ben Broady [3]

Explanation: What are those red filaments in the sky? It is a rarely seen form
of lightning confirmed only about 30 years ago: red sprites [4] . Recent
research has shown that following a powerful positive cloud-to-ground
lightning [5]  strike, red sprites [6]  may start as 100-meter balls of
ionized air [7]  that shoot down from about 80-km high at 10 percent the speed
of light [8]  and are quickly followed [9] by a group of upward streaking
ionized balls. The featured image [10] , taken just over a week ago in
Kununurra [11] , Western Australia [12] , captured some red sprites while
shooting a time-lapse sequence of a distant lightning storm. Pictured, green
trees cover the foreground, dark mountains are seen on the horizon, ominous
storm clouds [13]  hover over the distant land, while red sprites [14]  appear
in front of stars far in the distance. Red sprites [15]  take only a fraction
of a second to occur [16]  and are best seen when powerful thunderstorm [17] s
are visible from the side.

                  Tomorrow's picture: evolving universe [18]

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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1902/RedSprites_Broady_3000.jpg
  [3] http://www.benbroady.com/about/
  [4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_sprite
  [5] ap120723.html
  [6] ap120829.html
  [7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionized-air_glow
  [8] https://helios.gsfc.nasa.gov/qa_gp_sl.html#so...
  [9] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATmpgZoMRM0
  [10]
https://www.facebook.com/BenBroady/photos/
pb.1648435622056598.-2207520000.1550870632./2336202899946530/?type=3&theater
  [11] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kununurra,_West...
  [12] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Austral...
  [13] ap100821.html
  [14]
https://astrobob.areavoices.com/2018/05/26/
how-to-see-elusive-red-sprites-on-thundery-nights/
  [15]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/capital-w...
red-sprites-blue-jets-and-elves-what-are-these-mysterious-elusive-phenomena/
2012/09/17/33248346-007d-11e2-b260-32f4a8db9b7e_blog.html
  [16] ap141013.html
  [17] ap130505.html
  [18] ap190226.html
  [19] ap190224.html
  [20] archivepix.html
  [21] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [22] lib/aptree.html
  [23] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apo...
  [24] calendar/allyears.html
  [25] /apod.rss
  [26] lib/edlinks.html
  [27] lib/about_apod.html
  [28] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?dat...
  [29] ap190226.html
  [30] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [31] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [32] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnel...
  [33] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [34] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [35] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Priv...
  [36] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [37] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [38] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [39] http://www.mtu.edu/

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