Imagine gazing out from the International Space Station (ISS), 250 miles above Earth, and spotting a surreal red glow flickering in the atmosphere below. It’s not the aurora borealis or an alien invasion, but something far stranger—red sprites, elusive bursts of energy that dance above thunderstorms. On June 3, astronaut Matthew Dominick, commander of SpaceX’s Crew-8 mission, captured a jaw-dropping image of these eerie lights while photographing a lightning storm off the coast of South Africa. The result? A snapshot that looks like it belongs in a sci-fi blockbuster.
These mysterious red sprites aren’t extraterrestrial signals, as NASA assures us, but rather a phenomenon known as Transient Luminous Events (TLEs). Forming in the mesosphere, about 53 miles above Earth’s surface, these vertical streaks of crimson light appear above powerful thunderstorms. Unlike anything you’d expect from a typical weather event, they resemble glowing pillars suspended in space, fleeting and otherworldly.
Dominick, a former naval test pilot and fighter pilot turned astronaut, shared his stunning capture on X, describing it as a stroke of luck during a timelapse. “One of the frames had a red sprite,” he posted, clearly fascinated. Eager to learn more, he reached out to the online community, asking, “If there are any red sprite experts out there, I would enjoy tips on how to capture more of these. Clearly, look for lightning storms, but I’m thinking the stronger the storm, the better.”
NASA’s citizen science project, Spritacular, is now calling on skywatchers worldwide to help unravel the mystery of these atmospheric oddities. Dr. Burcu Kosar, the project’s principal investigator and a space physicist, explains, “People capture wonderful images of sprites, but they’re shared sporadically over the internet. Most of the scientific community is unaware of these captures.” By encouraging the public to submit photos of sprites and other TLEs to their crowdsourced database, NASA hopes to fuel groundbreaking research into these fleeting phenomena.
According to NASA, red sprites and other TLEs are bursts of colorful energy triggered by lightning activity within and below storms. Often caught by chance, especially in wide-angle timelapse photography, they’re a challenge to study due to their brief and unpredictable nature. On the ISS, astronauts like Dominick use tools like the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) to record these events, gathering data that could unlock new insights into Earth’s upper atmosphere.
The image Dominick captured above South Africa’s coast is a rare glimpse into a phenomenon that feels almost alien. NASA’s call to action is clear: whether you’re an amateur photographer or a curious stargazer, your snapshots of these glowing curiosities could help scientists piece together the puzzle. So, next time you’re watching a storm, keep your camera ready—you might just catch a red sprite in action.