24 January 2021, 8:58 am EST By
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) were witnesses to five intense blue jets of light shooting up from thunderstorm clouds into the stratosphere, with each flash lasting mere 10 milliseconds each.
(Photo : Screengrab from ESA)
Blue Lights and Elves
The astronauts aboard the space station describe seeing four of the blue flashes accompanied by a pulse of ultraviolet (UV) light that appears as a rapidly expanding ring.
Meanwhile, the fifth and final flash created a pulsating blue jet, which is a form of lightning that can reach up to 50 kilometers or 31 miles into the stratosphere and only lasts less than a second.