Red sprites formed above thunderstorms in the southeast Aegean Sea, as captured from the eastern suburban areas of Athens, Greece on December 4, 2021. Credit: Copyright Thanasis Papathanasiou
If you saw it, you are a lucky witness to a sprite, one of the least-understood electrical phenomena in Earths upper atmosphere. If you caught it on video camera, your image could contribute to a ground-breaking scientific discovery.
Spritacular (noticable sprite– tacular), NASAs newest resident science task, leverages the power of crowdsourcing to advance the research study of sprites and other Transient Luminous Events, or TLEs. TLEs consist of a variety of electrical phenomena that happen above thunderstorms and produce brief flashes of light. The brand-new citizen science task intends to link expert researchers with members of the general public who would like their camerawork to add to clinical studies.
” People record fantastic pictures of sprites, however theyre shared sporadically over the web and the majority of the scientific community is uninformed of these captures,” stated Dr. Burcu Kosar, Spritacular primary private investigator. “Spritacular will bridge this gap by developing the very first crowdsourced database of sprites and other TLEs that is available and readily available for clinical research.” Kosar is an area physicist at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
A red sprite (suggested by a white arrow) above a thunderstorm was captured by members of Expedition 44 Crew aboard the International Space Station on August 10, 2015. Credit: NASA
Sprites occur at around 50 miles (80 kilometers) in altitude, high above thunderstorms. Some sprites tend to dance over the storms, turning on and off one after another.
Eyewitness reports of odd flashes of light above thunderstorms date back hundreds of years, but it wasnt until 1989 that the first such event was caught on video camera. Researchers from the University of Minnesota were checking a low-light TV cam for an approaching rocket flight objective. By sheer mishap, their cam recorded the very first trustworthy proof for what we now call sprites.
” It wasnt an extremely high resolution or fast video camera– they simply captured two luminous blobs above a nearby thunderstorm,” Kosar said. “The whole field was kickstarted because a video camera was pointed in the best direction at the correct time.”
Researchers dubbed these elusive occasions “sprites,” a recommendation to mythical fairy-like creatures from European folklore. As other sort of TLEs were found, the spirited naming convention stuck. Today, researchers study ELVES, Halos, Blue Jets, Gigantic Jets, and more.
We still have far too few observations of sprites and other TLEs, and there is much we do not know. Some of the significant outstanding questions include:
Addressing these questions could cause significant advances in the science of Earths upper atmosphere. However to arrive, Spritacular requirements your help!
End Up Being a Spritacular Citizen Scientist
The very first objective of Spritacular is to build an image database: A collection of observations of sprites and other TLEs that will help respond to the concerns above.
Many commercially offered, digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) electronic cameras are appropriate for recording sprites. When and where to look, the hardest part is understanding. By uniting knowledgeable “sprite-chasers” and providing instructional assistance and resources, Spritacular aims to offer all the guidance you need for an effective capture.
If you believe you have actually recorded a picture of a sprite or other TLEs, you can create an account and then submit your pictures and photo information (time and area of the photo) to Spritacular. Precise time and location information are preferred, however approximate time and area will likewise be accepted with sufficient information. To submit a photo, you should be the professional photographer who captured it.
All sent pictures will be examined by researchers. Submitters who team up with scientists and whose image results in a clinical study or discovery will be appropriately acknowledged or listed as a coauthor on the resulting clinical publication, depending upon the level of contribution.
The more comprehensive objective of Spritacular is to promote a mutual exchange in between observers of TLEs and the scientific neighborhood and to motivate citizen scientists all around the world to take part in the investigation of these elusive occasions. As the Spritacular community and image database grows, Kosar is preparing to carry out new software application tools to immediately cross-reference submissions with databases on lightning and thunderstorms. These tools will allow users to evaluate their own images and contribute to the clinical method.
Spritacular is a NASA-funded person science task in partnership with the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The primary Investigator is Dr. Burcu Kosar and Co-Investigator is Dr. Jia Yue.
How typically do sprites happen? Why do they take the shapes they do?
What conditions in the upper environment trigger sprite initiation?
How do sprites impact Earths worldwide electric circuit, and what is their contribution to the energy in Earths upper atmosphere?
How are sprites gotten in touch with gravity waves, which send wind-driven ripples of energy through our upper atmosphere?
Spritacular (noticable sprite– tacular), NASAs latest person science project, leverages the power of crowdsourcing to advance the research study of sprites and other Transient Luminous Events, or TLEs.” People catch fantastic images of sprites, however theyre shared sporadically over the web and many of the scientific neighborhood is uninformed of these captures,” stated Dr. Burcu Kosar, Spritacular principal private investigator. By large mishap, their electronic camera caught the extremely first reliable evidence for what we now call sprites.
Lots of commercially available, digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) video cameras are appropriate for capturing sprites. If you believe you have actually captured a photo of a sprite or other TLEs, you can develop an account and then send your pictures and image details (time and place of the photo) to Spritacular.