First image of a sprite

First image of a sprite
Who
John Randolph Winckler
What
first
Where
United States ()
When

Sprites are atmospheric electrical phenomena associated with lightning. These unusual flashes shoot upwards from the tops of thunderstorms to altitudes up to 100 km (62 miles) above the surface of the Earth. Historical reports of these phenomena were not taken seriously until the first image was taken, accidently, in 1989 when a low-level light TV camera was pointed above a thunderstorm. They have since been caught on video from the space shuttle. Science has yet to fully understand them.