Citizen scientists have discovered that the aurora-like phenomenon called STEVE or Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement has a new feature-- small, green fence-like lights streaking through the atmosphere at 1 600 km/h (1 000 mph). STEVE is also a discovery...
November 26, 2020
Rare noctilucent clouds (NLCs) put on a spectacular display over London, England, on June 21, 2020-- during the summer solstice. "Even the bright lights of the London Eye on the River Thames couldn’t drown out the display," said Phil Halper, a...
June 24, 2020
Giant red sprites resembling jellyfish were captured over the skies in the Czech Republic on June 13, 2020. According to SpaceWeather.com, sprite season is underway in Europe and more atmospheric bullseyes are in the offing. Czech photographer Daniel...
June 15, 2020
A large column of red sprites and airglow put on a fantastic display over West Texas on May 13, 2020. The phenomenon was captured by Stephen Hummel of the McDonald Observatory. A line of storms more than 161 km (100 miles) away generated the astonishing display in...
May 18, 2020
A 'double Gigantic Jet' was captured over Puerto Rico on October 2, 2019, in what could quite possibly be the first record of this phenomenon. "In the past, I've captured Gigantic Jet events that split into two, but this is the first time I've...
October 11, 2019
Russian Astro and Geophysics satellite named after 18th-century scientists Mikhail Lomonosov, also known as MVL-300, has reportedly detected a previously unknown physical phenomenon in the Earth's atmosphere. This space-based observatory was launched in 2016 in...
February 17, 2019
A 300 km (186 miles) wide ELVE was photographed hight above a thunderstorm in central Russia on August 16, 2018. This transient luminous event was recorded using a low-light video camera in the Russian town of Irbit, Sverdlovsk Oblast, by amateur astronomer Ilya...
August 19, 2018
Powerful thunderstorms that hit parts of central Europe over the past couple of days produced a furious outburst of sprites. "It was unreal," Martin Popek, a well-known photographer of the upward directed bolts, told SpaceWeather.com. "I recorded more...
June 11, 2018
Two red sprites, transient optical phenomena appearing as luminous reddish-orange flashes, have been recorded over the Czech Republic on April 4, 2018, marking the early beginning of 2018 sprite season in the northern hemisphere. Lucky photographer this season was...
April 05, 2018
A supercooled rainbow was observed and photographed above Muonio, Finland on December 4, 2017. Supercooled rainbows were also sighted in the Arctic last year. "I have never seen a rainbow during the winter and I didn't even know that it is possible for them...
December 07, 2017
A new phenomenon seen as a giant purple streak of light in the night sky has been recently discovered and, for lack of a better word, named Steve. Steve was discovered thanks to scientists, citizen scientists, ground-based imagers and ESA's magnetic field Swarm...
April 21, 2017
A very elusive transient luminous event called ELVES appeared on April 2, 2017, high above a thunderstorm in the Chech Republic and was captured by one very lucky amateur astronomer. Martin Popek photographed the 300 km (186 miles) wide red ring of light hovering...
April 06, 2017
Photographer Jeff Miles from Australia has captured several amazing images of very elusive gigantic jets, otherwise known as ionospheric lightning. Miles witnessed 6 jets on the night of March 28 near a small town in the Pilbara part of Western Australia and you can...
March 31, 2017
Diego Rhamon managed to capture a gigantic jet (giant blue jet) taking place in Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brazil on March 13, 2017. It is the first recording of this elusive weather phenomenon in Brazil. According to Rhamon, the cumulonimbus cloud that...
March 16, 2017
Polar stratospheric clouds, reported on December 9, 2016, over the skies of Kiruna, Sweden, indicate the stratosphere above the Arctic Circle is getting very cold. Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) form from the icy particles in the lower stratosphere, in extremely...
December 15, 2016
Light pillars and halos are formed when the freezing cold atmospheric air is filled with tiny ice particles in suspension. When the wind is low and the sky is clear, you might observe strange beams coming from different sources of light. Ice particles reflect and...
November 09, 2016
On the night of June 21, 2016, photographer Derek Mellott from the town of Gibbons, Alberta, Canada recorded this fantastic display of noctilucent clouds (NLCs). "They were the brightest I have ever seen," he said. "It seemed like a good time to...
June 22, 2016