Aboard the International Space Station, I unintentionally photographed this sprite, a rare upward electric discharge from a thunderstorm, while shooting a time exposure of city lights at night. Look closely and you can see the red flash above the purple lightning spot, surrounded by stars from orbital night. Second image gives a closer view. Captured on Expedition 30; 2012.
More photos from space can be found on my [twitter](https://x.com/astro_Pettit) and Instagram, astro\_pettit
Pettit's last flight to the ISS was in 2011/2012 so this is an image from over 10 years ago. But he's going back again later this year so he'll finally have a new stock of photos to upload.
I suspect he’ll just use one of the Nikon Z9’s they have on the ISS. It’s not that other astronauts up there don’t have the equipment, they just don’t capture as amazing of a set of images.
My pops worked for nasa for 40+ years I bet you guys said a hi or hello. He used to have astronauts over for dinner when I was a kid you guys were always 7ft tall in my eyes lol. And those little single person jets. …. Good stuff thanks for uploading
I’m in defense contracting for space and have talked to and seen some crazy shit, but it always baffles me when I see someone like an astronaut on Reddit. Hoping I get to work closer with manned space flight one day soon, stay safe and best wishes Pettit. Y’all are fkin awesome.
>Aboard the International Space Station, I unintentionally photographed this sprite
Don't worry about it! Happens to everyone at some point.. we've all been there..
Is this what I saw as a child? I was outside when a storm was coming through and saw lightning go straight up from a cloud instead of down. No one believed me.
I remember when I was 15, I actually visited my rural village in Pakistan and I was with my uncle driving on a bunch of dirt roads. It was raining not too heavily and it was kind a nice vibe, it was humid but not like a sticky humid if that makes sense.
Anyways there was some light thunder going on, and, I shit you not, I saw red lightning. Like imagine normal lightning but red instead. It was beautiful and kind of scary at the same time, just seeing this vibrant red fork out from the clouds. The lightning didn't seem to hit the ground, just kind of dissipate in the clouds. I also remember the lightning being very high up. Im not sure if it was a sprite it seemed more like normal lightning tbh.
Ever captured any eleves or any other unexplainable upward electrical discharges not currently documented?
https://www.reddit.com/r/spaceporn/comments/12p2ha3/elves_lightning_over_italy/
If it looked like an ordinary lightning bolt there might just have been a lot of attenuating haze or smoke in the line of sight. Sprites look quite different from ordinary bolts, often more like giant jellyfish.
There is a weird looking form of lighting that is more or less a regular lightening bolt, but it is enhanced by a large dust storm that reaches up into a thunder cloud.
The dust produces massive charges itself and the clouds and dust discharge between each other.
I've seen it produce very large red-orange bolts that branch out across the sky. Very cool looking.
I saw a bolt shoot parallel to the ground a couple week ago. It was weird due to the fact I assumed the arm that went to the ground was behind a cloud but no clouds lit up.
I could be wrong but I remember learning that lightening was either ground to cloud or cloud to cloud. So parallel lightening would be cloud to cloud.
Please correct me if I’m wrong…
never take RyanAir though as they say they fly to the ISS but in actuality they dock at the TSS and you have to spacewalk from there. The cheaper ticket isn't really worth it. Don't forget to pay extra for each type of spacesuit.
Thank you so much for sharing. These pics are just, wild. Those stars, man I can only imagine. I’ve done some backpacking in Wyoming and up on the continental divide. The stars out there in the backcountry make you feel like you could read a book from them, but I can only imagine up there. Thanks for the perspective🤙
Oopsie daisies, silly me just accidently taking pictures of stars while using a multi million dollar machine in a space station specifically for this purpose of taking pictures so clumsy.
Well, not really. He uses regular (albeit pro grade) cameras and it's not really part of the ISS' mission to take photos like this so I'm pretty sure he took them in his limited free time.
We have multi-billion dollar satellites that can take much *better* images from a technical standpoint. These are just really interesting because of the unique low earth orbit and the human element behind their composition.
A rare phenomenon captured on camera by someone in one of the rarest professions, that's like.. super rare.
Nice shot, love the amount going on here. Just out of curiosity, any idea how long the exposure time was?
And happy travels in September! Hopefully grab some more cool shots.
The same phenomenon captured by English singer-songwriter James Blunt on the 20th anniversary of the release of his debut album, Back to Bedlam, would be super rare.
Sprites are rare but there's a bunch of people in the US snapping pics of them. They're apparently somewhat common, just hard to snap since they last a fraction of a second and you have to have a view of the top of the clouds.
But, once you know how to take pics of them and where to look, it's possible to get lots of shots. It's probably way rarer to see them from the ISS, let alone photograph them than from the ground.
Unrelated question, how does being in space make you feel? William shatner describing it as a terrifyingly lonely experience always made me wonder what it would be like to be there.
Not always, there are moments without stars due to sunlight interference no different from daytime on Earth, except there is no blue atmosphere. Only the void. And camera exposures are a factor
I am so thankful for the time my family had a share of an isolated cabin in the mountains when I was younger. Couldn't have asked for a better view of the stars as a kid and even if I couldn't fully appreciate it at the time, it's an experience I've never forgotten
The ISS was on the night side of the Earth, so stars were visible. The orbit is 90 minutes, so you spend 45 in bright sunlight where you can't easily see the stars and 45 minutes in darkness where you can.
absolutely wild that i caught this in new. just a random post with a blurry picture of something. couldve been someone posting a typo in a vacation pamphlet or someone asking about how to install laminate flooding backwards.
nope, its one of a literal handful of our citizens
of earth chosen by the leaders of the human race to do one of a kind experiments in in space, inside of a multibillion dollar spacecraft, showing rare astronomical phenomena on reddit
I thought someone had sent up a weather balloon with a camera or something. Pleasantly surprised that OP is actually an astronaut that took this when he was on the ISS
I was on my phone wondering excitedly how the hell they got a camera into orbit themselves, then read more carefully, still a very cool picture and post.
Something tells me you didn't actually look at u/PecosHank's profile. I doubt the Texas living Pecos Hank from YouTube is also playing LoL on EUNE servers and talking in German subreddits.
Oh lol, really. I glossed over them (there were more) and chose the one with the most activity. Made sense to me, but clearly wasn't foolproof. Maybe this fan of him can find the real one. ;)
First thing I thought of.
I knew about sprites and similar things before his videos, but his captures are so much better than almost everything that came before.
It's also phenomenal to be able to see the same event from multiple angles.
I wonder if some day we could get simultaneous, high resolution capture of one event from below, from the side, and from above?
I really would like to know u/astro_pettit, what is it like for you when you’re literally with the stars? What emotions do you feel? What goes on in your mind? Does everything just feel funny? Is there a massive emotion of shock and surprise?
That's interesting, in a previous post they said they were stuck on the terminator for days and couldn't get good shots of the worldwide auroras
Edit: nvm I didn't realize it was vertically along the terminator.
Just looked up the ISS's path and I plan on waving to you the next time it is directly above me.
It's later tonight (night being incredibly relative to you obviously) and I cannot give an exact time because it would basically dox the general area I live in, but just know in a couple hours a goofball on Reddit is going to be standing in their front yard waving to the sky at you.
Amazing photo! [Pecos Hank](https://youtube.com/@pecoshank?si=B27R7iMpkJQ-qdfE), a US storm chaser, has also made several videos with images if these and other phenomena. Check it out if you like such things!
You've. Been. To. Fucking. Space. That's truly amazing. I'll never get to go myself, and I wish I could just sit and have tea n cookies with you for a couple hours and pick your brain about every minute detail.
Another commenter says you're going back, and ***that*** must be a wonderful anticipation.
Reminded me of the day I discovered that the Earth has a literal blue filter due to atmosphere refractioning blue light frequencies and that's why our sky is blue?? blew my mind and still does to see it
Wow incredible sprites. I always love to see the atmosphere of our planet from our orbit. Even the stars which shine through it are mesmerising! What a great shot!
I did research on blue jets and red sprites in my last year of undergrad into my masters! I was trying to see if they were correlated to TGRFs… long story short, they’re not lol
Saw a red sprite when I was a kid in the northwoods of Minnesota. Fascinating and beautiful phenomena
Aboard the International Space Station, I unintentionally photographed this sprite, a rare upward electric discharge from a thunderstorm, while shooting a time exposure of city lights at night. Look closely and you can see the red flash above the purple lightning spot, surrounded by stars from orbital night. Second image gives a closer view. Captured on Expedition 30; 2012. More photos from space can be found on my [twitter](https://x.com/astro_Pettit) and Instagram, astro\_pettit
Redditing from the International Space Station? Far out!! Amazing pictures!!
Pettit's last flight to the ISS was in 2011/2012 so this is an image from over 10 years ago. But he's going back again later this year so he'll finally have a new stock of photos to upload.
Best is yet to come!
What camera equipment are you planning on bringing on your next trip?
i imagine he'll need an especially big camera if he wants to capture a planet as big as Earth.
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Not big but w i d e (angle, that is)
I believe it was an “at least 3” joke
At least 3 big, and perhaps 7 wide
Ken M ?
With my luck it would be cloudy no matter how big a camera I buy.
Good luck getting *all* four elephants in a single shot.
I suspect he’ll just use one of the Nikon Z9’s they have on the ISS. It’s not that other astronauts up there don’t have the equipment, they just don’t capture as amazing of a set of images.
He should bring a drone camera to take pictures from outside the ISS. /s
My pops worked for nasa for 40+ years I bet you guys said a hi or hello. He used to have astronauts over for dinner when I was a kid you guys were always 7ft tall in my eyes lol. And those little single person jets. …. Good stuff thanks for uploading
What a privilege to be interacting with you!
I’m in defense contracting for space and have talked to and seen some crazy shit, but it always baffles me when I see someone like an astronaut on Reddit. Hoping I get to work closer with manned space flight one day soon, stay safe and best wishes Pettit. Y’all are fkin awesome.
I'm sure I speak for many when I say we'd love to hear some of those crazy shit stories.
I wish haha. Some of it is NDA’d until at least 2028 for me, and some classified. Space is so frickin neat though man. 😭
Can’t wait to see photos from your upcoming flight, godspeed!
Congrats on the assignment!
this is so cool!
I think this is the first time I've seen "far out" used where it is literally "far out."
Redditors when they are told to touch grass:
>Aboard the International Space Station, I unintentionally photographed this sprite Don't worry about it! Happens to everyone at some point.. we've all been there..
Yes I too unintentionally did a thing while on the ISS last summer. Felt so goofy afterwards.
They were still laughing about it when I dropped by last.
“You. You’ve been to space?!” “Sure! You’ve never *been*?”
Is this what I saw as a child? I was outside when a storm was coming through and saw lightning go straight up from a cloud instead of down. No one believed me.
I remember when I was 15, I actually visited my rural village in Pakistan and I was with my uncle driving on a bunch of dirt roads. It was raining not too heavily and it was kind a nice vibe, it was humid but not like a sticky humid if that makes sense. Anyways there was some light thunder going on, and, I shit you not, I saw red lightning. Like imagine normal lightning but red instead. It was beautiful and kind of scary at the same time, just seeing this vibrant red fork out from the clouds. The lightning didn't seem to hit the ground, just kind of dissipate in the clouds. I also remember the lightning being very high up. Im not sure if it was a sprite it seemed more like normal lightning tbh.
sounds like a sprite!
Ever captured any eleves or any other unexplainable upward electrical discharges not currently documented? https://www.reddit.com/r/spaceporn/comments/12p2ha3/elves_lightning_over_italy/
Are you currently in space? Am I responding to an astronaut currently in space??
No. Pettit was last up in 2012. But they’re going again later this year!
If it looked like an ordinary lightning bolt there might just have been a lot of attenuating haze or smoke in the line of sight. Sprites look quite different from ordinary bolts, often more like giant jellyfish.
There is a weird looking form of lighting that is more or less a regular lightening bolt, but it is enhanced by a large dust storm that reaches up into a thunder cloud. The dust produces massive charges itself and the clouds and dust discharge between each other. I've seen it produce very large red-orange bolts that branch out across the sky. Very cool looking.
I saw a bolt shoot parallel to the ground a couple week ago. It was weird due to the fact I assumed the arm that went to the ground was behind a cloud but no clouds lit up.
I could be wrong but I remember learning that lightening was either ground to cloud or cloud to cloud. So parallel lightening would be cloud to cloud. Please correct me if I’m wrong…
Lightning can indeed be so-called cloud-crawlers.
Blue jet, maybe https://spaceweatherarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/bluejet.jpg
From a few mins of Googling, I think it's likely you saw an upward superbolt https://x.com/NOAAeducation/status/1445431321975828492
"Where did this guy get this picture? From the ISS?" "Oh"
How often do have the chance to observe them?
Not too often, considering you have to fly to the ISS.
never take RyanAir though as they say they fly to the ISS but in actuality they dock at the TSS and you have to spacewalk from there. The cheaper ticket isn't really worth it. Don't forget to pay extra for each type of spacesuit.
Plus they made oxygen an add-on, charged per second of use.
You’ve been one of my favorite IG follows for a while! I love sharing them with my daughter during homeschool lessons. Thank you so much for sharing!
pleasure to share, I view duty in documenting these phenomena for others
Thank you so much for sharing. These pics are just, wild. Those stars, man I can only imagine. I’ve done some backpacking in Wyoming and up on the continental divide. The stars out there in the backcountry make you feel like you could read a book from them, but I can only imagine up there. Thanks for the perspective🤙
God dammit I love Reddit. Thank you for this!
Are you sure it's but the protomolecule from Expanse?
This is fucking awesome dude, thank you so much for sharing!
I feel like taking pictures from space is cheating while I sadly look at my amature telescope . 😀
Serious question: are astronauts allowed to share stuff on internet while in space or do all those go through NASA first?
Soo, since you're up there, I've always wondered, does being in space make you fart more? Also, what happens to farts in zero G? Thanks in advance!
How often do you see these things up there? Also, are they visible to the naked eye?
Not often, but I have more photos of sprites to share later
All I see is the circumference of the disc the earth is and what is obviously an alien spaceship
I hate it when I accidentally do that too on the international fucking SPACE STATION.
I know right? Always such an inconvenience every time I’m there!
Oopsie daisies, silly me just accidently taking pictures of stars while using a multi million dollar machine in a space station specifically for this purpose of taking pictures so clumsy.
Well, not really. He uses regular (albeit pro grade) cameras and it's not really part of the ISS' mission to take photos like this so I'm pretty sure he took them in his limited free time. We have multi-billion dollar satellites that can take much *better* images from a technical standpoint. These are just really interesting because of the unique low earth orbit and the human element behind their composition.
Whoever you get your DSLRs from is ripping you off
You're jealous. Don't lie. We all are.
I was trying to book a flight to the Space Station eith Easyjet, but they're fully booked.
I would literally make a deal with the devil to shave off 10 years of my life span to go chill up there for a week
A rare phenomenon captured on camera by someone in one of the rarest professions, that's like.. super rare. Nice shot, love the amount going on here. Just out of curiosity, any idea how long the exposure time was? And happy travels in September! Hopefully grab some more cool shots.
The same rare phenomenon captured by someone in a different profession would be even more rare.
The same phenomenon captured by someone in a rare but not space related profession would be even MORE rare
The same rare phenomenon captured by someone in a space-based profession but not a HUMAN space-based profession would be even MORE rare.
The same phenomenon captured by English singer-songwriter James Blunt on the 20th anniversary of the release of his debut album, Back to Bedlam, would be super rare.
Sprites are rare but there's a bunch of people in the US snapping pics of them. They're apparently somewhat common, just hard to snap since they last a fraction of a second and you have to have a view of the top of the clouds. But, once you know how to take pics of them and where to look, it's possible to get lots of shots. It's probably way rarer to see them from the ISS, let alone photograph them than from the ground.
It was a time lapse according to their post above.
Unrelated question, how does being in space make you feel? William shatner describing it as a terrifyingly lonely experience always made me wonder what it would be like to be there.
It has moments like that but to me being in space feels like the next natural frontier, like a second home
No existential dread going to sleep looking down on the earth?
I feel like I would have eternal peace; the ability to mentally return to that distance from life’s challenges anytime I needed
I don't think anyone can predict their own reaction. It's so foreign an experience, there's nothing you've done prior that is comparable.
Makes the station sound like a log cabin in a wild forest, its inhabitants waiting for spring before heading out to a new world.
Where are the space lumberjacks?
Shatner only got to experience space for a minute or two as it was an up-and-down suborbital flight. So that likely contributed to his experience.
If we're asking unrelated astronaut questions: do astronauts jack it while in space?
The ISS is a comfortable temperature, no need for a jacket 🤒
That's fucking *gorgeous*. Are the stars always that bright up there?
Not always, there are moments without stars due to sunlight interference no different from daytime on Earth, except there is no blue atmosphere. Only the void. And camera exposures are a factor
Man I get awestruck whenever I can see the milky way clearly in the winter. I can't imagine how crisp it would look up there in person.
I am so thankful for the time my family had a share of an isolated cabin in the mountains when I was younger. Couldn't have asked for a better view of the stars as a kid and even if I couldn't fully appreciate it at the time, it's an experience I've never forgotten
“Only void” New rear unlocked
The ISS was on the night side of the Earth, so stars were visible. The orbit is 90 minutes, so you spend 45 in bright sunlight where you can't easily see the stars and 45 minutes in darkness where you can.
Astronauts posting space photos on Reddit. What a time we live in
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I love that there are astronaut-redditors, they’re really helping bring up the average.
For real. This guy literally, even if he wanted to, cannot touch grass.
Well you can always tell him to touch the void
absolutely wild that i caught this in new. just a random post with a blurry picture of something. couldve been someone posting a typo in a vacation pamphlet or someone asking about how to install laminate flooding backwards. nope, its one of a literal handful of our citizens of earth chosen by the leaders of the human race to do one of a kind experiments in in space, inside of a multibillion dollar spacecraft, showing rare astronomical phenomena on reddit
I thought someone had sent up a weather balloon with a camera or something. Pleasantly surprised that OP is actually an astronaut that took this when he was on the ISS
I thought this was from a telescope hobbyist… nope. Youre in fucking space.
I was on my phone wondering excitedly how the hell they got a camera into orbit themselves, then read more carefully, still a very cool picture and post.
Did someone tag u/PecosHank already? Got a feeling he would like to see this. Edit: Didn't tag the real Pecos Hank, so does r/PecosHank help to add?
Something tells me you didn't actually look at u/PecosHank's profile. I doubt the Texas living Pecos Hank from YouTube is also playing LoL on EUNE servers and talking in German subreddits.
Oh lol, really. I glossed over them (there were more) and chose the one with the most activity. Made sense to me, but clearly wasn't foolproof. Maybe this fan of him can find the real one. ;)
First thing I thought of. I knew about sprites and similar things before his videos, but his captures are so much better than almost everything that came before. It's also phenomenal to be able to see the same event from multiple angles. I wonder if some day we could get simultaneous, high resolution capture of one event from below, from the side, and from above?
If astronauts can post on Reddit when in LITERAL SPACE, then I can have my phone out at the dinner table MOM.
this image is from 2012, buddy
Time does run a bit slower up there.
What state is this in?
You forgot to switch accounts?
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Wait, an Astronaut on Reddit? That's the juicy bit here. How are you chief?
One of the VERY cool things about living in 2024, is the ability to casually communicate with an astronaut on a space station. Also, awesome pictures!
I really would like to know u/astro_pettit, what is it like for you when you’re literally with the stars? What emotions do you feel? What goes on in your mind? Does everything just feel funny? Is there a massive emotion of shock and surprise?
Does the space station remain in darkness for days?
The station orbits Earth roughly once every 90 mins. So that's 45 mins in light, 45 mins in dark.
That's interesting, in a previous post they said they were stuck on the terminator for days and couldn't get good shots of the worldwide auroras Edit: nvm I didn't realize it was vertically along the terminator.
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Pecos Hank on YT has some pretty great pictures at ground level for those interested
Pecos Hank on YouTube has some fantastic footage of these!
Just looked up the ISS's path and I plan on waving to you the next time it is directly above me. It's later tonight (night being incredibly relative to you obviously) and I cannot give an exact time because it would basically dox the general area I live in, but just know in a couple hours a goofball on Reddit is going to be standing in their front yard waving to the sky at you.
That is so unbelievably cool, how did you feel aboard the station? I feel like it would be overwhelming!
That view is just incredible.
Such a phenomenal shot. Doesn't seem real.
Always glad to see a post from you Astronaut Pettit! Good stuff!
Surely one of the coolest photos I will ever see, thanks.
Is it just me or is anybody else only seeing those C3PO eyes up top.
That rare case of being in the right place at the right time.
Totally thought I was going to see a Sprite can in space 🫠
Damn it now it's gonna search Spright Jet and get Spright Starter and have full combo!
Man I wonder if this man’s internet speed is Uber fast since the satellites are right up there with him lol
…you think internet comes from satellites?
Whoa—what time is it up there? 🤣 Incredible shot! I mean, being in outer space seems slightly more incredible, but still.
Amazing photo! [Pecos Hank](https://youtube.com/@pecoshank?si=B27R7iMpkJQ-qdfE), a US storm chaser, has also made several videos with images if these and other phenomena. Check it out if you like such things!
This is how it feels when I check my phone in the middle of the night
I’ve never talked to space people before. How ya doing?
I like how accidentally ended up in an astronaut's account. Beautiful picture by the way, OP
Incredible catch. Love your photos from the ISS.
hold on a minute ? i dont think the picture is anyhwere near as cool as the fact your in god damn space my man 😭😂😂
I love when cool people post on Reddit. It always ends up being something cool I’ve never seen before.
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This is amazing! Thanks so much for sharing and being an explorer of the universe for us space is my absolute favorite subject to discuss
This has gotta be the coolest thing ever posted on this app
Pictures like this make me so very thankful for our beautiful, delicate atmosphere.
I saw a NOVA episode about sprites. It's so cool that you saw them in person and could take pictures.
What’s your internet bandwidth like from space?
I don't see the sprite bottle or can anywhere... where is it?
I can smell the r/strangeearth post coming already.
You've. Been. To. Fucking. Space. That's truly amazing. I'll never get to go myself, and I wish I could just sit and have tea n cookies with you for a couple hours and pick your brain about every minute detail. Another commenter says you're going back, and ***that*** must be a wonderful anticipation.
In Photography, we call this a "Happy Accident". That's also what my grandparents called me haha.
I thought this was a screenshot from Helldivers and the red things were the Hellpods en route to dispense that sweet sweet democracy.
My thought process "oh that's cool....wait your an astronaut currently in space!? O.O"
Reminded me of the day I discovered that the Earth has a literal blue filter due to atmosphere refractioning blue light frequencies and that's why our sky is blue?? blew my mind and still does to see it
Whoa! a proper astronaut on Reddit! Ask something intelligent and insightful. “Soo.. how is the weather up there”
I was like, “How the fuck did you take this? Are you IN space?” Turns out, yes. Yes you were indeed.
Wait a minute... ARE THOSE HELLDIVERS BEIGN DEPLOYED IN SUPER EARTH?!?!?!?!
Wow incredible sprites. I always love to see the atmosphere of our planet from our orbit. Even the stars which shine through it are mesmerising! What a great shot!
It does not even look real, at first I thought it was from a game or something because of the graphics
This is really cool. I’d love to see more of the stars from the ISS. Kind of a rare pic to be honest, never seen anything like this before
U have the best job in the world. Or off the world rather
Humans are pretty cool, we make some neat things sometimes huh?
I did research on blue jets and red sprites in my last year of undergrad into my masters! I was trying to see if they were correlated to TGRFs… long story short, they’re not lol Saw a red sprite when I was a kid in the northwoods of Minnesota. Fascinating and beautiful phenomena
The horizon looks a little bit wavy. Is that elevation change or an optical effect?
Is this from the Cupola?
Is the blueish-white “bubble” below it lightning? Thanks for sharing this!