Astronaut shares image of mysterious ‘blue jet-sprite’ seen from ISS

It is one of the rarest atmospheric phenomena that occurs.

In the caption for the picture, Petit wrote: “Here is a blue jet-sprite photographed by my crewmate Butch Wilmore in a timelapse sequence.

NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore has captured a jaw-dropping image of a rare blue jet-sprite from aboard the International Space Station (ISS), giving space fans a stunning glimpse at one of Earth’s most mysterious atmospheric phenomena.

The incredible shot was shared by fellow astronaut and astrophotographer Don Petit who posted it on the below Reddit thread, crediting Wilmore for the rare capture.

Pettit explained: “Here is a blue jet-sprite photographed by my crewmate Butch Wilmore in a timelapse sequence”

“Blue jets and sprites are terms that are rather loosely applied to what I like to call ‘upward directed lightning’ (UDL). This is a rather new elusive atmospheric phenomena now extensively captured by digital cameras but still not fully understood.”

Blue sprites and red sprites shoot upward from the top of thunderstorm clouds, as opposed to regular lightning which shoots downward towards the Earth.

The sprites reach the fringes of space, as they extend to around 75-80 km above the Earth's surface.

According to NASA, the first documentation of these blue sprites was a videotape on July 6, 1989.

Later, between 1989 and 1991, additional footage from the Space Shuttle confirmed that these eerie electrical discharges were real.

NASA said: “Video observations from the space shuttle acquired from 1989 through 1991 provided 17 additional examples to confirm the existence of the sprites phenomenon."

The bright blue color comes from the way the charge interacts with nitrogen in the Earth’s upper atmosphere, creating an otherworldly glow that can stretch for miles.