The Himalayas, known for its snow-capped peaks and breathtaking landscapes, have always been a source of fascination and mystery. Recently, it has captured the attention of NASA with a rare phenomenon "Gigantic Jets" soaring from a thunderstorm towards the Himalayas in China and Bhutan. These elusive bolts of lightning have been spotted over the Himalayas, and NASA has shared a stunning picture of this rare occurrence.
But what exactly are Gigantic Jets, and what makes them so special?
According to Weather.com, the gigantic jets are a type of upper-atmospheric lightning that occurs in the mesosphere, about 50-90 kilometres above the Earth's surface. They are rarely observed and are even more challenging to capture in photographs due to their short lifespan of only a few milliseconds. But thanks to advancements in technology and a stroke of luck, NASA was able to capture a spectacular image of this rare event over the Himalayas.
This composite photo, which was released last week by NASA as the Astronomy Picture of the Day, shows four lengthy jets that were taken a few minutes apart. According to NASA, this lightning strike, which has only been seen in the twenty-first century, connects thunderstorms to the ionosphere—the part of the atmosphere that is ionized by solar and cosmic radiation.
In the image description, the space agency wrote, "Pictured here are gigantic jets shooting up from a thunderstorm last week toward the Himalayan Mountains in China and Bhutan. The composite image captured four long jets that occurred only minutes apart. Gigantic jets, documented only in this century, are a type of lightning discharge that occurs between some thunderstorms and the Earth's ionosphere high above them."
"The bottoms of gigantic jets appear similar to a cloud-to-above strike called blue jets, while the tops appear similar to upper-atmosphere red sprites," the agency also added.
One of the main reasons why Gigantic Jets are so elusive is because they are challenging to capture in photographs. Unlike regular lightning, which can be observed and photographed from a distance, Gigantic Jets are situated in the upper atmosphere, making it difficult to capture them with traditional cameras. The image shared by NASA was captured using a special high-speed camera that was mounted on an aeroplane flying above the storm. This allowed them to capture the Gigantic Jet in its full glory.
In the same incident in 2019, a passenger aboard a plane captured a picture of a massive jet of lightning that was visible beyond the wing of the aeroplane. According to NASA, the jet was photographed above Bhadrak, India, in a single 3.2-second exposure.
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