
This illustration shows what a sprite could look like in Jupiter's atmosphere. Named after a mischievous, quick-witted character in English folklore, sprites last for only a few milliseconds. They feature a central blob of light with long tendrils of light extending down toward the ground and upward. In Earth's upper atmosphere, their interaction with nitrogen give sprites a reddish hue. At Jupiter, where the predominance of hydrogen in the upper atmosphere would likely give them a blue hue. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA23990
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NASA ID
PIA23990
Date Created
October 27, 2020
Center
JPL
Media Type
image
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