American Astronaut Captures Image of 'Red Sprite' Above Mexico from Her Spacecraft

American astronaut Nicole Aunapu Mann captured an image of the 'Red Sprite' while passing over the International Space Station above Mexico and the United States, and presented it to scientists for study.

The astronaut shared an image of this phenomenon on her Instagram account, stating that it will help scientists on Earth better understand the formation, characteristics, and relationship of this phenomenon to thunderstorms.


Mann wrote in her post: 'Wow.. as we flew over Mexico and the United States of America this morning, I captured this sprite.'

She added: 'This phenomenon is a brief luminous event that occurs above the clouds, causing intense electrical activity in the thunderstorms below. We got a fantastic view above the clouds, so scientists can use these types of images to better understand its formation, characteristics, and relationship to thunderstorms.'