NASA astronaut captures rare lightning from space
NASA astronaut Don Pettit just dropped some jaw-dropping footage from the International Space Station, showing off rare purple lightning and wild atmospheric light shows during storms on Earth.
Filmed during his latest mission, these scenes give us a front-row seat to electrical storms that actually shape our weather and can mess with communication systems down here.
What makes this footage special
Pettit's video reveals red sprites and blue jets—colorful bursts of light that shoot high above thunderstorm clouds when lightning strikes hard.
Usually, we can't see them from the ground because of thick clouds, but up at 400km in orbit, Pettit had a perfect view.
His work not only looks cool but also helps scientists better understand how these electric events affect our planet.