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What’s that light on the horizon? Early last month, while orbiting Earth aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Matthew Dominic spotted an unusual type of lightning just off the edge of our planet: a giant fountain.
The powerful fountain appears on the left side of the featured image in red and blue.
Giant fountain lightning has been known for the past 23 years. Atmospheric plumes are associated with lightning and extend into the Earth’s ionosphere.
The lower half of the frame shows Earth at night, with the planet’s thin atmosphere tinted green by airglow.
City lights are also visible, sometimes overlooked but often creating a diffuse white glow through the clouds.
The top of the frame shows distant stars in the dark night sky.
The nature of giant fountains and their possible connection to other types of transient luminous events (TLEs), such as blue fountains and “red ghosts,” remains a topic of active research.
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