                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2024 August 13
   The edge of the Earth is seen from space at night. The curving horizon
   is tinted green but a red and blue jet rises from left. Please see the
                 explanation for more detailed information.

               Giant Jet from the International Space Station
    Image Credit: NASA, Expedition 71 Crew, JSC, ESRS, Matthew Dominick;
                         Processing: Simeon Schmauß

   Explanation: What's that on the horizon? When circling the Earth on the
   International Space Station early last month, astronaut Matthew
   Dominick saw an unusual type of lightning just beyond the Earth's edge:
   a gigantic jet. The powerful jet appears on the left of the featured
   image in red and blue. Giant jet lightning has only been known about
   for the past 23 years. The atmospheric jets are associated with
   thunderstorms and extend upwards towards Earth's ionosphere. The lower
   part of the frame shows the Earth at night, with Earth's thin
   atmosphere tinted green from airglow. City lights are visible,
   sometimes resolved, but usually creating diffuse white glows in
   intervening clouds. The top of the frame reveals distant stars in the
   dark night sky. The nature of gigantic jets and their possible
   association with other types of Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) such
   as blue jets and red sprites remains an active topic of research.

           Growing Gallery: Perseid Meteor Shower 2024 and Aurorae
                      Tomorrow's picture: star factory
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

