What do "blue jet", "elf" and "red sprite" have in common? It appears that all of these strange names designate the phenomena associated with the lightning, which are very difficult to observe from the Earth's surface. To perform research of various atmospheric phenomena, in 2018, a set of optical cameras, photometers, and X-ray and gamma radiation detectors were installed at the International Space Station.
Recently, they could capture the "blue jet" that was initiated by five intense 10 μs flashes in the cloud near the Naru Island in the Pacific Ocean. The "blue jet" is a form of a lightning that goes straight up from the thundercloud. They may be 50 km long into the stratosphere and live for less than a second. The flash has also created the so-called "sprites" which are a ring of optical and UV radiation at the ionospheric bottom.
See details of this wonderful phenomenon in the video:
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