This is my personal favorite (EVER) picture, from last night at 11:40 p.m. as a squall line was grinding up around Canton Lake, Oklahoma.
This red sprite was captured from Western and Prairie Grove road, just up north of Waterloo in Edmond. The storm was about 85 linear miles away, so just imagine the size of this structure above it …
To me, red sprites are just so awesome in their magnificent color, structure and science.
Bottom line: Red sprites – large-scale electrical discharges – over Oklahoma on October 6, 2017.
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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