The NASA website has a section titled Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD), where the photos are daily published. On June 18, 2024, a photo of gigantic jets over the Himalaya were published there.
This composite image shows four long jets occurred at the interval of several minutes. Gigantic jets initially documented in this century are a type of lightnings that occur between some storms and the Earth's ionosphere high above them. This is an unusual lightning type that significantly differs from the conventional ones which occur between clouds or between clouds and the ground. Lower parts of the captured gigantic jets are similar to the discharges running from clouds upwards, i.e. the so-called blue jets, whereas its upper parts resemble red sprites occurring in the upper atmospheric layers. Although the mechanism and reasons for the formation of gigantic jets have not yet been completely studied, jets are known to reduce the charge mis-balance between various parts of the Earth's atmosphere. A good way to see gigantic jets is to observe the strong storm being at the safe distance from it.
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