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

15. Noctilucent Clouds

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Red lightning finds a rare and exquisite environment in noctilucent clouds, sometimes known as polar mesospheric clouds. The highest clouds in Earth's atmosphere, these ghostly, electric-blue clouds develop in the mesosphere at altitudes of eighty kilometres. Visible exclusively in polar regions at twilight, noctilucent clouds provide a special setting for electrical activity. The unique circumstances in the top mesosphere lead to the development of red lightning in connection with noctilucent clouds. Under the very cold summer mesopause, these clouds comprise little ice crystals formed around meteoric dust particles. These ice crystals together with the special atmospheric composition at such high elevations produce an environment fit for extraordinary electrical discharges. Lightning in or close proximity to noctilucent clouds can acquire a characteristic red colour. There are various reasons believed to affect this red hue. Higher concentrations of some elements that can influence the spectrum of light emitted during electrical discharges allow the very thin air at these altitudes to have a different mix of gases than the lower atmosphere. The ice crystals in the noctilucent clouds can also function as prisms, dispersing and refracting light in ways that improve the red end of the spectrum. Studying red lightning connected with noctilucent clouds provides important new perspectives on the electrical characteristics of the upper mesosphere and the intricate connections among cosmic dust, atmospheric ice, and electrical energy for atmospheric scientists and space weather experts. This study affects knowledge of high-altitude atmospheric chemistry, polar area climate processes, and potentially the possibility for analogous events on other worlds with stratified atmospheres. Moreover, the research of these events advances our understanding of the worldwide electrical circuit of the Earth and its possible effects on temperature and weather patterns.