A US astronaut has captured an extraordinary view of a phenomenon in space brought on by an intense thunderstorm below.
Nichole "Vapor" Ayers spotted the phenomenon, known as a "Sprite", while travelling in space over Mexico and the US on July 3.
Sprites are triggered by "intense electrical activity" caused by thunderstorms, the Nasa Astronaut explained on X.
Ayers accompanied the social media post with a picture of the Sprite, which will be used to help scientists better understand them.
A picture of the Sprite captured in space
Nichole 'Vapor' Ayers/Nasa
The Astronaut is currently a flight engineer onboard International Space Station Expedition 73, a Nasa mission which began on April 19 and ends in November.
She wrote to X: "Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the U.S. this morning [July 3], I caught this Sprite.
"Sprites are TLEs or Transient Luminous Events, that happen above the clouds and are triggered by intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below.
"We have a great view above the clouds, so scientists can use these types of pictures to better understand the formation, characteristics and relationship of TLEs to thunderstorms."
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Nichole 'Vapor' Ayers is currently onboard International Space Station Expedition 73
GETTY/X
Sprites occur moments after a lightning strike at around 80 kilometers altitude as a "sudden reddish flash" and can take a range of shapes, according to Nasa.
The space agency launched a project several years ago called "Spritacular" in order to better understand Sprites, asking members of the public to submit photos of any sightings.
In a report published in 2022, Nasa said they are one of the "least-understood" electrical phenomena in Earth’s upper atmosphere and that many questions remain around them.
This includes how often they occur and why they take the shapes they do.
A space breakthrough meanwhile took place last week when two stellar explosions occurred, explosions occurred, creating a unprecedented astronomical phenomenon as both outbursts became visible to the naked eye from Earth simultaneously.
This marked the first time in recorded history that more than one of these luminous stellar events had been observable to humans at the same time, according to scientists.
The dual nova occurrence represents some of the most powerful explosions in the universe, with the distant stellar detonations burning so brilliantly that they can now be seen without using a telescope.
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