Storm chasers are people who love to chase storms and witness how they unfold. Although many are seduced by tornadoes, others prefer thunderstorms and the pleasure of seeing cumulonimbus clouds and other related phenomena.
Some of them chase tentacle-like red lightning across the sky during a storm. They happen so quickly that watching them will make you doubt your senses. It is ultra-fast electricity that travels through the atmosphere at 60-80 kilometers high and moves into space.
These red electric sky jellyfish last about a tenth of a second and are usually darkened by storms, making them difficult to detect.
Dark sky specialist Stephen Hummel of the McDonald Observatory was able to capture the magnificent image of a red ridge on Mount Locke in Texas on July 2. The funny thing is that it was not until he checked his camera that he could confirm what he really believed he had seen.
He recorded four hours and 30 minutes of video footage of the storm before taking this photo of a “red goblin.” Red goblins can be huge, sometimes reaching around 50 kilometers long and 50 kilometers high. Scientists have seen red goblins around the world on every continent except Antarctica since their discovery in 1989.
Why does it look red?
It turns red due to nitrogen floating high in Earth’s atmosphere. The electricity emitted excites the nitrogen, causing it to emit a reddish glow that gives it that spectacular touch in the night sky.
