An astronaut on the International Space Station has captured a rare kind of lightning called a sprite while traveling 250 miles above the Texas–Mexico border. Referred to as “space lightning” and ...

Sprites are what scientists refer to as transient luminous events (TLEs) that happen above the clouds during periods of intense electrical activity, like lightning. Ayers, who is quite the astral ...

In May 2025, astronauts Nichole Ayers and Anne McClain posted photos on X of lightning roiling far, far beneath them. The photos were captured at speeds of 120 frames per second, with the depicted ...