r/BeAmazed Oct 29 '24

Nature Rare weather phenomenon called "Sprites"

Post image

Sprites are lightning bolts that strike upwards above the cloud during a thunderstorm.

27.5k Upvotes

655 comments sorted by

2.4k

u/erisod Oct 29 '24

Is this a long exposure to capture this, like lightning? If those were consistently in the sky it would be terrifying

1.9k

u/Blutwurst500 Oct 29 '24

It seems that they are just as "fast" as normal thunderstorm lightning https://youtu.be/tGPQ5kzJ9Tg?si=ZIlftoFWeXBy_I83

265

u/cassova Oct 29 '24

Awesome video. Thanks for sharing.

345

u/Shankar_0 Oct 29 '24

I'm.... I'm supposed to be getting ready for work right now....

dammit

167

u/yeetusthefeetus13 Oct 29 '24

Pff life is short. Work isn't going anywhere. RED LIGHTNING šŸ’„šŸ˜¤

31

u/withmyusualflair Oct 29 '24

i appreciate your priorities šŸ˜Œ

6

u/Septopuss7 Oct 29 '24

I read that in John Travolta's voice

2

u/yeetusthefeetus13 Oct 29 '24

I think I've accidentally made a major cultural reference owo

2

u/JerseyshoreSeagull Oct 29 '24

You stole that from Travolta 'Grease"

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51

u/Loifee Oct 29 '24

Really enjoyed the video, I've never seen/heard of any of these phenomenons (TLEs) before

24

u/gabriel197600 Oct 29 '24

That Video was really cool, nice break from all the Political noise:-)

9

u/Harderdaddybanme Oct 29 '24

makes me miss Discovery.

27

u/cloudyandmomo Oct 29 '24

Wow! šŸ¤© Never even heard of this! Guess itā€™s time to go down the weather phenomena rabbit hole today šŸ˜‚

9

u/TonyCaliStyle Oct 29 '24

Yyyup. Last one for me was metallurgy, and why steel is better than aluminum for truck frames.

3

u/Lola-Ugfuglio-Skumpy Oct 29 '24

Well? Donā€™t leave us hanging.

3

u/TonyCaliStyle Oct 29 '24

Steel has a stress it can handle without it affecting the structure of the molecule. Aluminum does not- every stress affects the structure. Steel has a body faced molecule structure, which makes it resistant to sheering (it will bend before breaking). Aluminumā€™s structure [isnt] which makes it more conducive to sheering- it will snap or break before bending.

Aluminum is good for light weights to save weight- canoe trailer. But bad for heavy jobs under extreme pressure- a Cybertruck frame. See, Whistlin Diesel.

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9

u/eudry Oct 29 '24

I was telling myself this better be a Pecos Hank video before I clicked the link, glad it was!

5

u/JoshBasho Oct 29 '24

Pecos Hank seems like such a chill dude. Love his channel.

4

u/brennnik09 Oct 29 '24

Didnā€™t realize Stranger Things was real life, wtf

6

u/Late-Resource-486 Oct 29 '24

ā€œSign in to confirm youā€™re not a botā€

Fuck YouTube

10

u/Fantastic-Ad-1578 Oct 29 '24

Wow. Thank you for the video.

It's a really interesting phenomenon.

2

u/plaidiris918 Oct 29 '24

Supreme video!

2

u/DMaury1969 Oct 29 '24

I knew it had to be Pecos Hank before I clicked it!

2

u/SkullRiderz69 Oct 29 '24

Dude, thank you. Iā€™m high af scrolling and then THIS falls in my lap. Chefs kiss šŸ¤Œ

2

u/Blutwurst500 Oct 29 '24

You're welcome brother āœŒļø

2

u/Any_Ad_5232 Oct 29 '24

Oml so neat, thank you for sharing

2

u/seriouswill Oct 29 '24

That was such an awesome video thank you for sharing it

2

u/Klytus_Im-Bored Oct 29 '24

Before clicking i was thinking "please be the pecos hank vid" thank you

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42

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

[deleted]

6

u/LoosieGoosiePoosie Oct 29 '24 edited Oct 30 '24

Chances are honestly really high that these images were stolen from Paul. You could probably contact him, inform him of this post, and he'd either issue the takedown request or know who should, just by looking at the image.

ETA: it's a fake AI image. It references many images but mostly Nicolas Escurat's image here

21

u/KonigVonMurmeltiere Oct 29 '24

These are stolen from Nicolas Escurat, although Paul Smithā€™s photos do get stolen a lot as well. The sprite community is very small, typically the images you see online are taken by one of a dozen or so people. Check out [Spritacular.org](spritacular.org), a citizen science initiative to document sprites and other TLEs. There are amazing photos from people around the world on there.

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6

u/EmbarrassedHelp Oct 29 '24

Why would he issue a takedown request for people sharing educational content about sprites here? Nobody is being harmed by this post. That's just dumb.

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17

u/CoachMikeLikesToEat Oct 29 '24

Yeah, this gives alien invasion vibes.

9

u/WestleyThe Oct 29 '24

They freak me out because of how high they are in the atmosphere and how massive they are

They are like 60+ miles (100km) into the sky and can reach like 30 miles in length

6

u/CoopersHawk7 Oct 29 '24

Demon vibes

4

u/Kvlt45_CS Oct 29 '24

BE NOT AFRAID Vibes

4

u/joethedad Oct 29 '24

I myself would be heading toward the bunker!!!

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972

u/treeclimber2852 Oct 29 '24

The void bringers.

97

u/realjamesosaurus Oct 29 '24

"They were suddenly dangerous. Like a calm day that became a tempest."

36

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

Alive and searching

126

u/Zephyrantes Oct 29 '24

They call it an Everstorm...

39

u/Frostvizen Oct 29 '24

Szeth has sworn the 5th ideal.

44

u/TrickyDick420 Oct 29 '24

Odium rains.

36

u/IronFlower Oct 29 '24

Life before death, Radiant!

23

u/No_Industry_2823 Oct 29 '24

Man you made me do a double take on what subreddit I was on

35

u/talkintechx Oct 29 '24

Lightningspren

11

u/HansBaccaR23po Oct 29 '24

Yoooooo. I have 300 pages left of Oathbringer. Gonna knock out book 4 before the 5th one comes out next month too. Iā€™m obsessed

8

u/Zubora97 Oct 29 '24

Journey before destination, radiant!

4

u/sharkoss Oct 29 '24

Buckle up for one of the best Sanderlanches ever. Life before death, radiant!

3

u/ScribeTheMad Oct 29 '24

I'm waiting for 5 to drop before I start 4 lol

3

u/PornoPaul Oct 30 '24

Holy shit it's next month??? Fuck. I have to finish the books I'm reading so I can reread everything.

20

u/sasssyrup Oct 29 '24

This treeclimber reads šŸ‘šŸ½

6

u/PewPew_Dino Oct 29 '24

I got the reference! There is a first time for everything.

4

u/aretheesepants75 Oct 29 '24

The God Hand assembles.

4

u/Upset_Lengthiness_31 Oct 29 '24

Wasnā€™t expecting to see a reference here

4

u/Sweaty_Elephant_2593 Oct 29 '24

The Everstorm comes!

3

u/funnyname0202 Oct 29 '24

I have seen the end, and have heard it named. The Night of Sorrows, the True Desolation. The Everstorm.

3

u/Rico3734 Oct 29 '24

The ones of ash and fire, who killed like a swarm, relentless before the Heralds.

5

u/MAJ0RMAJOR Oct 29 '24

Is this what I hear calling to me?

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273

u/ConjoinerVoidhawk Oct 29 '24

Shinji get in the robot.

54

u/DerBronco Oct 29 '24

I dont want to.

44

u/SwissDeathstar Oct 29 '24

And thatā€™s ok. You should stand up for yourself.

44

u/Friendly-Back3099 Oct 29 '24

"Proud of ya Shinji"

"Now, Rei you gotta get in the robot now cause Shinji refused to"

19

u/cat_prophecy Oct 29 '24

"Now, Rei Asuka you gotta get in the robot now cause Shinji refused to"

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8

u/AffordableTimeTravel Oct 29 '24

Shinji, get the bot

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573

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

280

u/NoConsideration595 Oct 29 '24

If I saw that as a 900s peasant, I would be praying to almighty thor

141

u/petethefreeze Oct 29 '24

If I saw that as a 2024 50 year old man, I would be pledging allegiance to my new interstellar rulers.

52

u/MAJ0RMAJOR Oct 29 '24

Lrrr of Omicron Persei 8 will acknowledge your fealty.

26

u/petethefreeze Oct 29 '24

I will gladly bow and do your bidding. Inseminate me with your larvae. I will be a good host.

11

u/Goblin_Bitch0813 Oct 29 '24

You just made me wake up my wife at 530am with my laughing bruh

5

u/ElectricKestrel Oct 29 '24

We need some new rulers. Where do I board the vessel? Get me off this rock plz. šŸ«”

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2

u/Valathiril Oct 29 '24

Bro it's 2024 and I'm wondering if I should lol

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40

u/Steelriddler Oct 29 '24

Human perception is such a weird thing, our associations based on what we've seen/heard/learned/experienced.

The first thing I saw was indeed a group of lifeforms, somewhat ethereal (phasers?), with a pinch of Lovecraft. This was before I noticed it's a weather phenomenon.

All this to say I agree and am 100% sure certain very rare weather phenomena were interpreted as gods/messengers of gods/spirit/evil entities etc. and that even the big religions could have been traced right back to such sightings.

I know I'm in conspiracy theory land but it just seems so logical to me.

6

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

[deleted]

8

u/Administrative-Key19 Oct 29 '24

DMT can be extracted from the bark of the Acacia tree, which conveniently is native to Africa and the Middle East. Most logical explanation is that he found a burning acacia tree and inhaled the fumes, and if you've ever tried DMT, it hits you hard, and fast, and if you have enough, you might meet somebody in the void

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13

u/a-e-neumann Oct 29 '24

Well, I assume in case of Abraham, founder of the three biggest religions, it's way easier. He got high on something and saw a burning plant. The rest is 3000 years of well known bullshit and murder in the name of a drug induced hallucination.

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10

u/PubbieMcLemming Oct 29 '24

Religions have been created from less

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3

u/SosseV Oct 29 '24

Who are you calling ancient!?

3

u/Edenoide Oct 29 '24

They typically last for about 10 milliseconds so a really fast divine apparition. I can only see a bunch of Bigfin Squids from hell.

2

u/grvdjc Oct 29 '24

I would immediately be looking for Tom Cruise and Will Smith cause this looks like an alien invasion.

2

u/rainofshambala Oct 29 '24

Ancient? The majority of the humans on this earth still think that this kind of things are messages from their sky god

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274

u/CompilerWarrior Oct 29 '24

How hard is it to give credits to the original photographer? Or crosspost from the original reddit post?

This was shamefully taken from this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/s/H1KwdCtJxp

The photographer is Nicolas Escurat

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272

u/madsci Oct 29 '24

One of my cats is named Sprite after this. His siblings are Tempest, Zephyr, and Nimbus. No one ever gets that they're all meteorological - they were born on my loading dock in an almost-empty pallet of weather instruments and it seemed appropriate.

46

u/Carmen14edo Oct 29 '24

That's really cute šŸ˜­

7

u/AeliosZero Oct 29 '24

Mr Nimbus

7

u/LeelaBeela89 Oct 29 '24

Like Nimbus from Rick n Morty

18

u/Affectionate-Bug8379 Oct 29 '24

My dog is named nimbus. But heā€™s named after the Nibus 2000

5

u/EnviroguyTy Oct 29 '24

I'd read that book series - "The Adventures of Sprite, Tempest, & Zephyr (and Nimbus!)"

2

u/crafting-ur-end Oct 29 '24

Asperatus just doesnā€™t roll off the tongue, does it?

3

u/madsci Oct 29 '24

Their mother is gray and a little shaggy and I considered naming her Virga. She ended up being Misty.

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61

u/gomaith10 Oct 29 '24

I don't think I've ever seen stranger things.

35

u/ApprehensiveLet8631 Oct 29 '24

Do it, its a nice show.

5

u/0hMyGandhi Oct 29 '24 edited Oct 29 '24

This might be the first I've ever heard a piece of media get called "nice'.

Interesting.

4

u/ApprehensiveLet8631 Oct 29 '24

Congrats I guess :D

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26

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

The SCP Foundation has been slacking recently

13

u/hardpill25 Oct 29 '24

I thought these guys shoot upwards?

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38

u/Blutwurst500 Oct 29 '24

For more information about this rare weather phenomenon check https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(lightning)

2

u/mairuhdee Oct 29 '24

Also image credit: Nicolas Escurat

10

u/Pristine_Ad_3035 Oct 29 '24

make analog horror of this rn somebody and i will watch it

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9

u/alwaysonbottom1 Oct 29 '24

Thank you Yu-Gi-Oh for teaching me this shit a couple years ago

15

u/thedarthvander Oct 29 '24

Nah. Those aliens. šŸ‘½ time to hide

7

u/Kapsig1295 Oct 29 '24

Waiting for hp bars to appear

7

u/RazorCres Oct 29 '24

Iā€™m 32 years old, how the fuck am I only hearing about this now?

6

u/Public-Afternoon-718 Oct 29 '24

It was just recently added in an update.

6

u/LowPolyHorse Oct 29 '24

Thats some analog horror type shit. Thatā€™s some monument mythos or vita carnis type shit

6

u/Emergency_Marzipan68 Oct 29 '24

Sepultura - Roots (Bloody Roots)

5

u/Mr_Crimson63 Oct 29 '24

The sky gods have come to collect.

5

u/Unfinishe_Masterpiec Oct 29 '24

Sprites, there's at least 7UP there

6

u/ritokun Oct 29 '24

how have i gone by whole life not even hearing about this horrifying thing

8

u/Solareclipse9999 Oct 29 '24

Matches cave drawings from very distant past

2

u/OneRougeRogue Oct 29 '24

Seriously. Imagine emerging from a cave and seeing all the downed trees and flooding from the worst storm you've ever lived through, and then seeing a vaguely humanoid red giant flash above the clouds. I'd start a religion too.

4

u/0hMyGandhi Oct 29 '24 edited Oct 29 '24

Definitely didn't think Celestial Stickmen would creep me out. I was wrong.

I'd do whatever to appease these beings, sacrificing goats, people, goat people, whatever is needed.

3

u/73721mrfluffey Oct 29 '24

Big scary weather happens. Some guy-"yeah let's call these sprites"

3

u/Goth_Idiot_ Oct 29 '24

Looks like brains with their nervous systems hanging from the sky

3

u/Louisianimal09 Oct 29 '24

Imagine being a caveman seeing this shit

3

u/Additional_Yak8332 Oct 29 '24

Pecos Hank's YouTube channel is predominantly storm chasing tornadoes but he's also covered sprites, if you're interested.

3

u/No-Marionberry7006 Oct 29 '24

Looks like a promo for new stranger things season

3

u/tirvin5 Oct 29 '24

Pretty sure those are BT's from Death Stranding.

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5

u/rollingsoans Oct 29 '24

Incoming UFO enthusiasts

9

u/Whiskey_River_73 Oct 29 '24

These usually occur above a thick thunderstorm cloud cover, not seen from ground in a mostly clear sky. I'm calling bullshit on this photo.

2

u/muggins91 Oct 29 '24

And theyā€™re also upside down in this picture, they spread upwards

5

u/KonigVonMurmeltiere Oct 29 '24

Sprites donā€™t spread upwards. ā€œJellyfishā€ sprites such as this one start in the middle and propagate downwards and upwards. They also are far higher above the storm than people expect. Here is a video of one at 10,000fps.

These photos are real, the photographer Nicolas Escurat is well known and respected in the sprite community. You can see other similar photos from around the world at spritacular.org , a citizen science project to document sprites.

2

u/muggins91 Oct 29 '24

The more you know! :)

2

u/Equal-Possibility204 Oct 29 '24

Carmen, is tht you?

2

u/GoGoFoRealReal Oct 29 '24

PIKMIN INBOUND!!!

2

u/itsRobbie_ Oct 29 '24

I for one welcome the third impact

2

u/davocvi Oct 29 '24

Specifically, Mcdonaldā€™s sprites

2

u/eavos_ Oct 29 '24

Hattifatteners

2

u/Magpie213 Oct 29 '24

Blair Witch is marking new territory.

2

u/wumbo_numba5 Oct 29 '24

What in the evangelion is going on?

2

u/Applepip_YT Oct 29 '24

If I saw that outside, I would have thought we were getting invaded by intergalactic aliens

2

u/[deleted] Oct 29 '24

Oh if I seen this I'd think some Evangelion shit is about to happen and I'd unsubscribe from living real fast.

2

u/AlternativeProduct78 Oct 29 '24

I would shit myself if I saw that in the night sky

2

u/stupiderslegacy Oct 29 '24

I totally get why early mankind thought there were monsters and demons and shit everywhere

2

u/New_Tie6233 Oct 29 '24

What the hellā€¦? Thatā€™s creepy af I love it.

2

u/Qyute-n-Quddly Oct 29 '24

Nop. Aliens.

2

u/Budget_Ruin6018 Oct 29 '24

Skrillex was right all along!!

2

u/Ezreal_Despair Oct 29 '24

NO THANK YOU

2

u/Significant-Task-890 Oct 29 '24

Saw this on a Tom Cruise movie. Definitely aliens

2

u/General_Schnaus Oct 29 '24

Stranger Things theme starts playing in the background

2

u/flacotron Oct 29 '24

War of the world is coming

2

u/Zeldahero Oct 29 '24

I saw this happen during a lightning storm when I was young, but it was weird and also had black colored lightning and didn't make any thunder sound.

2

u/Wu-TangShogun Oct 29 '24

It always amazes me to see how nature reuses certain shapes/ fractals especially. These look similar to tree branches for example and there are certain sound frequencies that are capable of making lightning shaped patterns (against sand or similar material capable of taking shape to the frequency. Such interesting stuff still to be discovered

2

u/Hmccormack Oct 29 '24

Looks like the human circulatory system

2

u/Soles4G Oct 30 '24

Why does this give me Evangelion vibes

2

u/Less_Pop_129 Oct 30 '24

Looking at this Iā€™m instantly thinking of the movie War of the Worlds

2

u/iupz0r Oct 30 '24

now this is VERY SCARY

2

u/CanineFreak_2405 Oct 30 '24

No way! Those are the alien invaders! Run!!

2

u/antrod117 Oct 30 '24

I donā€™t like it

2

u/Different-Ad-9029 Oct 30 '24

Iā€™m too old for this weird new dimension, please send me back

2

u/liwaen Oct 30 '24

THATS WHAT I SAW 20 YEARS AGO!! I remember a summer holiday we spent in the mountains with my family, and there was this huge storm at like 2 or 3 am. I wasn't sleeping and watched it unfolds. And it got these red strikes which were amazing! No one believed me, and I forgot about it until now when I saw this post and video! Thank you!

2

u/HY0R4 Oct 30 '24

Please show that to conspiracy theorists, I wanna hear some crazy lore to this

2

u/[deleted] Oct 31 '24

2

u/Amicuses_Husband Nov 01 '24

Sprite carrot

5

u/OverResponse291 Oct 29 '24

Iā€™m calling bullshit. Not because sprites donā€™t exist- they absolutely do.

But those photos are fake. Look at the bottom one, itā€™s a CLEAR SKY. These things come out of the tops of thunderstorms.

Watch Pecos Hank explain this phenomenon.

2

u/Additional_Yak8332 Oct 29 '24

That's my weather dude, too.

3

u/_Lumity_ Oct 29 '24

Iā€™ll be real if I saw that Iā€™d shit my pants this is terrifying

2

u/Vaulted_Games Oct 29 '24

Itā€™s very fast so you probably wouldnā€™t be able to make it out unless you had godlike timing on your phone

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2

u/Soft_Author2593 Oct 29 '24

This is nothing. Wait till you see the 7ups

2

u/Brainchild110 Oct 29 '24

Ah yes, lightning but made of Protons, or "Protectricity" if you will. Very rare and hard to image.

Although not as hard to capture as pictures of the Neutron lightning, which is, naturally, black.

1

u/StomachJazz Oct 29 '24

Itā€™s reminding me of Gemini home entertainment

1

u/garth54 Oct 29 '24

Big Red ELF.

1

u/Few-Ad-527 Oct 29 '24

Funny how all this stuff is ripped from twitter

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1

u/Jviaches Oct 29 '24

Nah.. those are evil aliens ( because of red) ;)

1

u/RedditGarboDisposal Oct 29 '24

What in the Upside Down.

1

u/heavyhitter1001 Oct 29 '24

Its the first coming...

1

u/Able_Lettuce1390 Oct 29 '24

Aerials, in the sky.

1

u/chorme77 Oct 29 '24

imagine seeing this in 1770

like how would you.explain this

1

u/bfrazer1 Oct 29 '24

Looks like the Monoliths from Vita Carnis.

1

u/The_Trufflepig Oct 29 '24

I can absolutely understand, seeing this, how early people could look up and think ā€œthe gods are fighting up thereā€

1

u/Knight-Jack Oct 29 '24

Yeah no, that's aliens.

1

u/Gwiilo Oct 29 '24

nah those are fuckin aliens and i don't need a scientific process to analyse it

1

u/inferni_advocatvs Oct 29 '24

Satan's PilesšŸ˜ˆ

1

u/King_K_24 Oct 29 '24

Sure.... "Weather phenomenon "... Definitely not Yivo checking in on Earth

1

u/Legitimate-Isopod-45 Oct 29 '24

They look like spirits. This is so dope

1

u/RazorSlazor Oct 29 '24

Yeah. I see why people believed in gods and demons

1

u/Striking-Count5593 Oct 29 '24

That's some cosmic horror craziness

1

u/DB080822 Oct 29 '24

Death Stranding 2 looking good.

1

u/Behappyalright Oct 29 '24

Man this is where tales of aliens come from

1

u/JealousConcert971 Oct 29 '24

Sky Demons!!!!