Rare red sprites dancing in the skies, above thunderstorms

Graduate student Jason Ahrns captured a stunning image of red sprites over Nebraska while aboard a plane chartered by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. And behold Scott McPartland's rare video of the phenomenon in May.

Blink and you'll miss it! You'll see a smaller one just above the telephone pole at 00:26, then a larger one left of there at 00:28.

scott-mcparland-sprite

Here's a great story on how the scientists caught the still images and includes several more videos.

VIVID RED SPRITE BURST – Supercell Lightning Storm 5/16/2016 (YouTube/Scott McParland)