"Red Sprites & Blue Jets" - the video

[phillipdogyface]

i think its the sun sending huge amounts of electricity at earth and causing the sprites to ground with the atmosphere, not the ground like normal lightning, and the red color is the nitrogen reacting in different ways and the reason why it is red on top and blue on bottom i believe is because the sprites are so huge they reach from one atmospheric level to another with different gases in it to create different colors :D

[aldenackerman]

What are the current explanations for the origin of red sprites and blue jets?

[NKirkwall]

Love the 80's feel xD

[Marmalade000000]

The music is exceptionally beautiful in this video!!

[LookMaNoBrains]

Fucking sprites! How do they work?!?

[Tbolt1000TForLife]

love the 1990's music!!!

[laura20022004]

freakin awesome!

[callowaymotorcompany]

Diggin the 90's music

[cantsnapurpicture]

Is it possible the Red Sprites are the discharge of positive ions from where at lighting strike occurs and if so they are part of the energy that creates lighting?

For the Blue Jets could the water molecules in the clouds correlate to the way that they shoot out? (more concentrations of molecules, the more conical the shape of the jets are?)

[tiki2188]

Can you see these from the ground? I was awoken to a very loud clap of thunder and when it happened I saw a red flash. Now I wasnt watching this storm....since it woke me up and I caught the end of this red flash, so it lasted a bit. According to Wiki sprites can be red and last for much longer than a flash of lightning so maybe that was it?

[wxchaser03]

I miss doing work on TLE's. Gotta say my favorites were ELVES. Listen to the VLF's when an ELVE pops and you wont even have to watch the tape...you KNOW it just happened.

[gayconusa]

I have a theory? What if this is how the ozone layer formed? Those jets and sprites, are injecting into the ozone layer helping to maintain it. How did the ozone form? Maybe this is how?

[Eastview605]

@gayconusa We've examined the detailed plasma chemistry of sprites and their kin with special attention given to the possibility of effects in ozone and nitric oxide. There are local effects within the body of the sprite, but globally they appear not to exert much of an effect. Besides, the ozone layer is at a lower altitude, in the stratosphere. Sprites are at higher altitudes, ~50-90 km, in the mesosphere..

[Coredeath]

hey what s the music?

[Mallgenttt]

Hell yes '94. My DOB and Sprite/Blue Jet footage.

[MetalMonarchy]

1994...my year of birth xD

[hazahaxa]

I think I just added something else to my "things to see before I die" list

[marmol1011]

My god!!! this is the best high quality,futuristic video i have ever seen!!.note:this is my first time using a "computer","utube",and i dont have a tv....lol

[theoriginal72]

Is this Giorgio Moroder?

[seboskii]

@thefirecrackerxD You can usually witness jets with the naked eye by observing an airport for a few minutes. Although elusive, you should be able to catch several jets originating from a low altitude, then increasing in height.

[RectalSpoonNinja]

OMG conspiracy

[ilovetogofast88]

NATURE RULES!!

[Eastview605]

@thefirecrackerxD Yes, it is possible to see sprites with the naked eye from the ground. You have to be off to one side of a storm by, say, 100-200 miles or more, and have a clear view of the portion of the sky that's directly above the storm. The sprites are very brief, ~1/100 seconds, so it's easy to miss them if you're not looking carefully.

[OCPRS]

@Eastview605

Great video, interestingly enough many people who have seen such weather anomalies like sprites have confused them for UFOs! LOL Misperceptions are common with rarely seen weather events like these.

Cheers.

[Oracle13]

Beautiful!

[P3ERSON]

ome to my channel about a creepy dream i had about sprites

[P3ERSON]

@lionsforlyons Thanks for imput :)

[P3ERSON]

@thefirecrackerxD You can but you have to be so many miles up

[Eastview605]

@lionsforlyons Pretty close. The elves are interactions of lightning EMP with the ionosphere, and are not really discharges per se. Sprites are electrostatic phenomena produced when a cloud-ground lightning produces a charge change in the cloud, which is felt at higher altitudes and induces electrical breakdown of the air. Spectral measurements have shown that the colors are produced by neutral molecular nitrogen. Blue jets are believed to be the upward counterparts of cloud-ground lightning.

[Kevinite]

By looking at the comments on here I'm beginning to think no one has read the book " Angels Don't Play This HAARP".

Heck, just go to Amazon and read the reviews of this book. Especially you lionsforlyons and cluelessDan.

[Eastview605]

@Kevinite What does HAARP have to do with anything here?

[KitireFel]

@Eastview605 conspiracy theory bullshit.

[MrMoorkey]

@Eastview605 Probably nothing. Another conspiracy weenie wanting to be heard.

[KWEKOSHKUKI12]

@P3ERSON this made my day

[P3ERSON]

@KWEKOSHKUKI12 well im sorry but no one and i mean no one makes fun of MY MOM.I have to deal with that kind of S@!^ all the time at school and im not going to deal with it will im reserching

[P3ERSON]

The sprites and blue jets appear to be happening after big lightning strikes wich what i think are the possitive particles going from the lightning strike to the energized particals above the cloud resulting in possitive lighting strikes just magnified by there hieht in the air or the lower oxigen content that high up in the atmisphere

[missystar013]

gotta love the cheesy 90's science video music. XD

[KWEKOSHKUKI12]

blue jets....the storm is cumming hahaha

[P3ERSON]

@KWEKOSHKUKI12 you like it

[KWEKOSHKUKI12]

@P3ERSON ur mom does hahahah jk jk

[indemnis4]

seriously nice work!

Kath

[TheWhisperingCactus]

Oh god, the music starting at 1:08 is just priceless. So dated, so predictable, so the sound of local TV of my youth.

[InKnowledge]

Eastview605 is knowledgeable about the Sprites 94 campaign. I was the chief engineer and the person responsible for capturing these images. The color images used my HL-51S camera, one of only two ever made. The camera was a collaborative effort between PAVIC and researchers at the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska. The camera had 2 million ASA (ISO) equivalent film speed. Its output was NTSC RS-170 video and the images were recorded on a Sony UVW 1800 Beta-SP.

[Intrafacial86]

awesome

[april76301]

it is cool there is under 100 videos and reports of blue jets they are ultra rare

[Jimberley123]

This is really interesting, thanks for this ;o

[markuks]

I think it was explained that the causes of the colors in sprite (blue to red) is because of the gases in the atmosphere, it tends to change as you go higher...

[RenegadeArms09]

GOD I LOVE OUR PLANET!!!

[zhengguoguangxi]

什么形状的云？飞盘型的吗？

[dudewithspudgun]

FRIGIN AWESOME! They need to make another video like this using modern HD and supa slow mo cameras.

[cayrax1]

the sprites will be the wone thing you never for get if u see wone in real life

[derrzh]

@cayrax1 one. The word you are looking for is ONE. as in 1. Learn to spell, freak.

[QuincysRcool]

@cayrax1 I have seen ball lighting but I want to see sprites and jets too.

[M3h123]

Are blue jets those 'gnome' things i heard about?

[Eastview605]

@M3h123 No, gnomes and blue jets are different things. Although the name hasn't been officially "sanctioned" by researchers, the unofficial definition of gnomes refers to compact regions of optical emissions that slowly crawl back up sprite tendrils after the tendril emissions have decayed, sort of like an upward traveling wave. To date there has been no specific physical mechanism proposed for them. I'll see if I can find some examples from our data files to post on YouTube.

[P3ERSON]

@M3h123 There called elves

[riKringkast]

Man, I can't believe I've lived for 23 years and never heard of sprites and blue jets,

[tsubodzuka]

@riKringkast Same here, except at age 24. Was randomly going through Wikipedia and found a page on Upper-Atmospheric lightning. Instantly blown away by sprites. They look so ominous!

[DerMetzger]

Wow

[iHateToRegister]

It seems like the real beauty of a thunderstorm happens above the clouds

[bboydmt]

Cool ... Didn't knew something like sprites existed, thanks.

[EUofficial]

2) Upper-atmospheric lightning or upper-atmospheric discharge are terms sometimes used by researchers to refer to a family of electrical-breakdown phenomena that occur well above the altitudes of normal lightning.

[EUofficial]

2) The preferred current usage is transient luminous events (TLEs) to refer to the various types of electrical-discharge phenomena in the upper atmosphere, because they lack several characteristics of the more familiar tropospheric lightning. TLEs include red sprites, sprite halos, blue jets, gigantic jets, and elves.

[Eastview605]

About Tesla: He was a genius, to be sure, but he also got a lot of things wrong. He never accepted Einstein's theories, for one thing. His scheme for global energy transmission was never tested, fortunately for him, because it would never have worked. The underlying concept was wrong. And books like "Lightning in His Hands" and "Tesla: Man out of Time" are entertaining reading, but they are puff pieces that do not critically discuss his inventions and claims.

[GarbageGnome]

Also, I'm pretty sure that his idea of resonance used in demolition was proven wrong. You'd enjoy all the conspiracy theorists babbling that HAARP transmitted a energy burst on the exact right frequency to cause the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti.

[Eastview605]

@GarbageGnome Yes, I'm very familiar with the HAARP project, and am hugely amused by the HAARP conspiracy theories.

[onimotoko]

Well first off, I don't wanna be a dick or nothin but, they are called "Einstein's THEORIES" for a reason. Second, we just can't prove Tesla's idea's about global energy transmission because we don't even have his complete research regarding the matter. Just a heads up :)

[Eastview605]

@onimotoko Please take a moment and look up the definition of the word "theory." You'll find that what you appear to think it means is not what it in fact means when applied to things like "Einstein's theory" or "number theory" or "analytic function theory" or any of a number of well established usages. The popular meaning, as just an unproven conjecture or guess, as a lawyer might use it, is inappropriate in this case. And Tesla was simply wrong about a number of things.

[kc0itf]

@Eastview605 What is this? The Inquisition? Science is ALL about questioning!!! EVEN the so-called priests such as Einstein! If Tesla never tested it, how do YOU know it wouldn't have worked??? Science DENIED the existence of sprites and jets for a long time...

[Kevinite]

Have people forgotten about HAARP ? ?

[Eastview605]

@Kevinite Sorry, not sure I catch your drift here...

[danschaoticmind]

@Kevinite These phenomena have been occuring since well before HAARP ever came online. Furthermore, note that Sprites and elves are natural phenomena.

Finally, the phenomena occur nowhere near HAARPS ground site.

Perhaps you should learn something or another about HF before spouting off about HAARP? You seem to know little about the subject if you are implying HAARP is related to elves and sprites.

[Kevinite]

@danschaoticmind - - Unfortunately people like Dan with his chaotic mind have no idea how long HAARP has been around. He appearently thinks the effects of HAARP is limited to only the ground site where it is located ! It is also obvious that Dan has no idea what the capabilities of HAARP are. pssst, don't any one tell him that Russia has a 3rd generation HAARP. He'd freak !

So Dan, before you spout off insulting people concerning something you know nothing about, do some research. Sheesh.

[danschaoticmind]

@Kevinite How long HAARP has been around: Well luckily for us we have witness statements and of course lease agreements showing the exact date they built HAARP.

HAARP is limited to the ground site: No it is not. It is, however, limited by atmospheric absorption by RF fading. A thing you apparently know nothing about.

No idea what the capabilities are: I know a lot better than you do if only because I have a degree in RF engineering and know what HF does.

How about you research?

[danschaoticmind]

@Kevinite Furthermore, in this case you say insult and I see: ignorance. Which, based upon your rant, is a fair assessment. The amount of energy that HAARP puts out manifests itself only in the areas affected. Since the Yagi structure is unidirectional, you can bet the skip distance is limited.

Furthermore, the RF levels (That being it's Wattage) is not nearly as high over a distance as the Ionospheres background levels (Measured in Tesla and Gaussian units)

[elesar1979]

Tesla also designed the turbines for the hydroelectric power plant at Niagara Falls and the originals are still operating to this day. These are but a few of the many breakthroughs Tesla made for the human race, but alas, the rich and influential bankers and businessmen of the world blocked him at every turn, because he wanted to provide free energy to all. Learn your True history; the stuff they don't teach in schools.

[elesar1979]

That's a good pic of Nicolai Tesla, the, "Master of Lightning"(and the creator of the Teslacoil, circa early 1900's, which produces "man-made" lightning). Tesla discovered AC current, radio (although many still falsely believe Marconi discovered radio), remote radio controlled devices, world wireless communication, wireless transmission of electricity, theorized a possible limitless supply of free energy from the atmosphere, and more: he was the greatest discoverer of the last 200 years!

[porschelord]

What happened to good old fashion science? Dinosaurs, weather, etc...? Its like as soon as year 2000 came, it all came to a stop. Well, most of it, of course.

[MaxArceus]

sprites are part of the weather

[eyetheskies]

Interesting...

[lilbromarky1]

awesome! loved this vid

[sirhobbes59]

man thats so cool, but when you think about its not surprising considering how much energy is released during a thunderstorm

[IMPERIALxSNIPER]

Very cool.

[FieldMajor76]

Awesome, thanks for sharing. Listening to northern lights is a cool clip- check it out.

[MrTanookiMario]

Cool, that's the first time I've actually seen sprites and jets.

[Aussiemoo]

4:20 is good ;)

[SurveyOk]

i love science

[Thirras88]

Very fucking good video

[dragonhalberd]

Man i remember if your lucky you see one on a clear night

[marflemerfmarf]

amazing! Very interesting, the soundtrack is amazing!

[supertamal2000]

that is beautiful and makes you really wonder.. what the hell is going on out there? :O

this thing got me interested :D

[hitman6833]

Cool video, but the sountrack sucks.

[AsmodaiV3]

Lol, yes it does. A lot.

[Mchitler08]

haha i luv your sarcasm

[TheCynicalAtheist]

I thought it sounded like music from one of those late 80's early 90's made for TV thrillers.

[Eastview605]

I agree - the music's not to the best by today's standards. The video was made on the spur of the moment from aircraft TV observations made the night before.  The sound clips were what were available in the free commercial library of the TV station where the VHS clip was composed and edited. The whole production took about 6 hours, from time of conception over breakfast to completion - including the drive time to and from the recording/editing studio.

[thisbarb]

Amazing phenomena.

[jensen1901]

so amazing.

[EverboundVenvel]

That, I would love to see IRL. Of course, I'm not about to go flying above a T-Storm with no experience whatsoever. I like the "ZAP!" noise the sprites make for some reason.

Oh, plasmas, how I love thee.

[Rakios26]

awesome vid.

since i once saw a documentary about sprites and blue jets on TV, i can't get enough of them. :)

[wdelgenio]

Where can I get the soundtrack!?!?

[Eastview605]

The soundtrack was created from various snippets of free music, such as one finds in "How Things Work." It's not available as a separate track, but you should be able to grab it from this YouTube clip with the right tools.

[JordanoDaMano]

Simply fascinating!

[HerrGeneral913]

Absolutely. I find it fascinating too, like most people should.

[Veitchick]

just woa

[vastenmielinen]

damn ,very interesting on top of the clouds too !

[funkdaddy7]

Very cool. Nicely done video.

[CamiloSanchez1979]

thats some amazing vid bro

[CrystEarthPaw]

well to dragon there is a way to do it, i know of a connecter that could probably hook it up, and my question to Eastview, is it True that sprites and possibly even blue jets are caused more by positive lightning strikes since they carry more energy and cause the ionization of the atmosphere quicker?

[Eastview605]

Sprites are caused overwhelmingly by +CG strikes, not so much because they carry more energy (although they do), but rather because of the detailed way ionization occurs by electron impact. It's different for +CG and -CG strokes. Blue jets occur because of readjustment of internal charges inside a thundercloud that occurs too fast for polarization screening charges to keep up.

[DragonerPhoenix]

I don't think so. It was a pretty old camera, dating back to about 1997... And I wouldn't know how to hook it up to the computer...

[Eastview605]

What kind of camera, e.g., video camera? still camera? Whatever it is I'm pretty sure there's a way.

[DamienZshadow]

You should so try to get that video up, it must\ have been an amazing spectacle.

[DragonerPhoenix]

It was. However, I still can't find a way to hook the camcorder up to my computer, since the camera is almost dead in its lifespan, and my computer is about 12 years more advanced than the camcorder. However, I have converted the file into VCR, and I am going to try and convert that into a DVD disc, so maybe then I'll have a chance.

[DamienZshadow]

You have no idea how grateful I would be if you uploaded that. Please direct message me when you do. Lightning facinates me so much!

[DragonerPhoenix]

Alright :D It will take time to process the data to a CD (i.e I don't know how)

[firesoftheempyrean]

Dragoner, there are VHS to DVD recorders that I'm sure a university or school would gladly let you borrow (or let you do the transfer on campus). Also, i digitize my analog videos by running the RCA or S-video cable into an older miniDV camera, then going FireWire out of the miniDV cam into my laptop.

Feel free to message me if you need more detailed help. Your video sounds one-of-a-kind!

[DragonerPhoenix]

They are so amazing. When I was 14, in 2004, I went out with my dad to look at a meteor shower that was supposed to happen about 10 P.M. As we watched it, suddenly an extremely bright HUGE red light flashed much higher than the meteors we were seeing, but lasted a few milliseconds. It was followed by an extremely rare blue greenish light called an elf. Much bigger than the sprite, it lasted even shorter a time, about 1/2 a millisecond. Only the camera saw it. I still have it on tape today.

[Eastview605]

Dragon, is that tape in a form where those images could be grabbed from it? Drop me a note...

[onimotoko]

Ya, I would LOVE to see!

[Jeffgoalie]

wow! i am amazed!!

[mikedwn]

Outstanding educational value. 6 stars. Thebest footage and explanations I've seen in a very long time. Thanks so much for sharing.

Mike

Darwin

[wedgewu]

This is really great! Thanks.

[Eastview605]

Yes, quite a bit has since been learned about sprites since 1994. The image inventory is now literally in the tens-of-thousands, including ground, aircraft, satellite, shuttle and space station observations. The theory has been pretty well wrestled into a reasonably small corner in terms of fundamental plasma kinetic theory.

Blue jets have been more elusive. Events from the single storm shown here still account for more than 90% of the totality of observations that have been made world-wide.

[watchnasatvcom]

These are great, thank you for posting. The radio signal is new too me, interesting. Do we know more of the how and why on sprites/jets?