Unveiling Nature's Mysteries: Red Lightning in 15 Meteorological Conditions

13. Sprites and Elves

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Two of the most mysterious forms of high atmospheric electrical events, sprites and elves, present an original viewpoint on red lightning. High above the surface of Earth, in the mesosphere and lower ionosphere, these brief bright events strongly correlate with strong troposphere below lightning strikes. While Elves (Emission of Light and Very Low Frequency disturbances due of Electromagnetic Pulse Sources) seem as growing rings of red light at heights of 100 kilometres, sprites are vertical columns of red light that can reach from 50 to 90 kilometres in height. These red lightning events arise from a complex interaction between strong electromagnetic pulses produced by strong positive cloud-to- ground lightning strikes. Strong lightning strikes produce an electromagnetic disturbance that rises into the mesosphere and ionosphere. The excitation and ionisation of nitrogen molecules in the top atmosphere brought on by this disruption produces the distinct red glow of sprites and elves. The emission spectra of nitrogen when nitrogen returns to its ground state following excitation explains most of the red colour. Study of sprites and elves offers vital new perspectives on the electrical interaction between several strata of the environment for physicists and atmospheric scientists. These events show how much higher altitudes may get energy from lightning, therefore changing atmospheric chemistry and maybe even the entire electrical circuit of the Earth. Further helping us to grasp high-energy physics processes in the upper atmosphere and their possible effects on space weather and long-range radio communications is research on sprites and elves.