- Feb 5, 2002
- 179,083
- 64,257
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Catholic
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Others
"OK, this is kind of out there and caters to your inner Uber-Geek."
NASA astronaut Don Pettit captured breathtaking video of a rare atmospheric phenomenon from his perch high above Earth on the International Space Station.
While the International Space Station (ISS) was orbiting above South America, Pettit recorded what are known as Transient Luminous Events, or TLEs. These are bright, colorful flashes of light faster than lightning and are sometimes referred to as "sprites."
Pettit was able to view the sprites from directly above, looking down at what is known as the nadir, the point directly below a particular location. "OK, this is kind of out there and caters to your inner Uber-Geek," Pettit posted to X (formerly Twitter along with the video. "Nadir view of Transient Luminous Events (TLE ) or upper atmospheric lightning."
Continued below.
www.space.com
NASA astronaut Don Pettit captured breathtaking video of a rare atmospheric phenomenon from his perch high above Earth on the International Space Station.
While the International Space Station (ISS) was orbiting above South America, Pettit recorded what are known as Transient Luminous Events, or TLEs. These are bright, colorful flashes of light faster than lightning and are sometimes referred to as "sprites."
Pettit was able to view the sprites from directly above, looking down at what is known as the nadir, the point directly below a particular location. "OK, this is kind of out there and caters to your inner Uber-Geek," Pettit posted to X (formerly Twitter along with the video. "Nadir view of Transient Luminous Events (TLE ) or upper atmospheric lightning."
Continued below.

Rare colorful lightning caught on camera by ISS astronaut. 'OK, this is kind of out there'
"OK, this is kind of out there and caters to your inner Uber-Geek."