Sprites are a type of TLE, which create brilliant flashes of light high above powerful thunderstorms and are difficult to observe from the ground.

US astronaut Nichole Ayers snapped an astounding photo of a red sprite lighting up the sky above Earth. This remarkable shot was taken from the International Space Station (ISS) as it passed over Mexico and the US on July 3, with Ayers expressing her awe by posting: "Just. Wow. As we went over Mexico and the US this morning, I caught this sprite."

A NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station has captured a photo of a rare type of upper-atmospheric lightning called a gigantic jet.