Astronomy Picture Of The Day Reblog - Blog Posts

2023 September 18

The Red Sprite and the Tree Credit & Copyright: Maxime Villaeys

Explanation: The sprite and tree could hardly be more different. To start, the red sprite is an unusual form of lightning, while the tree is a common plant. The sprite is far away – high in Earth’s atmosphere, while the tree is nearby – only about a football field away. The sprite is fast – electrons streaming up and down at near light’s speed, while the tree is slow – wood anchored to the ground. The sprite is bright – lighting up the sky, while the tree is dim – shining mostly by reflected light. The sprite was fleeting – lasting only a small fraction of a second, while the tree is durable – living now for many years. Both however, when captured together, appear oddly similar in this featured composite image captured early this month in France as a thunderstorm passed over mountains of the Atlantic Pyrenees.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230918.html