'Elves' and 'blue jet' lightning in Earth's stratosphere spotted from space - Space.com

The space station detected several "elves" and a "blue jet" in a thunderstorm over the Pacific Ocean.

Newly published observations from space are showing researchers more about the nature of Earth's lightning storms, including whimsically named phenomena such as "blue jets" and "elves.".

The International Space Station's Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) observatory caught a single blue "jet" (upward-shooting lightning) from a thunderstorm cell, along with four "elves," or optical and ultraviolet emissions from the bottom of the ionosphere, according to a Nature paper published Wednesday (Jan. 20).

Understanding the origins of lightning also could provide insight into how greenhouse gases are concentrated in Earth's atmosphere, the European Space Agency (ESA) said in a statement.

"Looking down on Earth's weather from the International Space Station 400 km [250 miles] above," the agency added, "ASIM's enhanced perspective is shedding new light on weather phenomena and their characteristics.".

More recently published papers from 2020 include comparing observations of the same lightning flash in Columbia from space and the ground, and a three-year summary of ASIM research describing applications in weather forecasting and public safety, among other data. .

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