Overview

• NASA released the photographs on August 18, confirming the phenomenon as a Gigantic Jet, a rare transient luminous event that spans from thundercloud tops to near-ionospheric heights.
• Astronaut Nicole Ayers captured the event on July 3 aboard the International Space Station, marking one of the few direct space-based observations of these high-altitude discharges.
• The Nasa-Spritacular project has launched a public-data portal at spritacular.org to crowdsource additional photos and videos of similar events for ongoing research.
• Researchers are analyzing the shots to assess how these towering electrical discharges might alter upper-atmospheric chemistry and interfere with radio signals and aviation pathways.
• Comparisons to a 2007 Arizona capture highlight the rarity of Gigantic Jets and underscore the need for an expanded observational network to improve understanding.