Pilot captures super rare 'gigantic jet' lightning in Earth's upper atmosphere at night
For perspective, imagine Godzilla having a really, really bad day and opening his mouth to let out a bright jet of blue light. We've all seen the picture, we all know the image. Now, imagine a bright blue jet of light cutting across the sky in real life, minus a giant, pissed-off lizard. Earlier this year, an Airbus pilot caught such a phenomenon on his camera while flying at night and the video has to be seen to be believed.
For perspective, imagine Godzilla having a really, really bad day and opening his mouth to let out a bright jet of blue light. We've all seen the picture, we all know the image. Now, imagine a bright blue jet of light cutting across the sky in real life, minus a giant, pissed-off lizard. Earlier this year, an Airbus pilot caught such a phenomenon on his camera while flying at night and the video has to be seen to be believed.
What does the viral video show?
The blue jet is a form of upper atmospheric lighting | Image: Instagram
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The video, shot from the point of view of the pilot, from the cockpit, shows flashes of lightning dancing across clouds until a bright, pink and purplish vertical jet of light pierces the dark night sky. This beam of light can be seen spanning thousands of feet, from the Earth's upper atmosphere (or exosphere) all the way up. As the video progresses, the sky turns back to black again,. the moment itself not lasting more than a few seconds.
How did the internet react?
Another screengrab of the video showing the super rare phenomenon
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Alexander Torres, a pilot, shared the now-viral video on Instagram writing, "Encountered a cosmic marvel! Captured the surreal beauty of a gigantic jet phenomenon during my night flight, a sight that feels straight out of a sci-fi movie! Did you know about this fascinating ¡°natural¡±phenomenon?"
The video raked in a whopping 15.5 million views, 673K likes and comments to match. "A sprite. Very rare and this is the best one Ive ever seen!" wrote one Instagram user. "Coolest thing I¡¯ve learned today: Sprite is not just a drinkable soda but a beautiful phenomenon," was a second person's honest reaction. " Must be a boring job since they decide to film stuff out the window," joked a third. "In 50 years of flying everything from an Army helicopter, to heavy Boeing 777-300ER I have only seen 1 sprite. Over the Amazon enroute to Brazil," wrote a fourth, also a pilot, proving just how super rare these "sprites" are.
Watch the viral video below
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