More than 90% of UFO sightings can be easily explained, and most often they are incorrect visual interpretations of meteors, meteorological probes, flocks of birds, aircraft and even the Moon
Here is another such object that will complement the list of names identified as UFOs: sprites. No, not elves, fairies or other aerial creatures, but a natural phenomenon that occurs during a thunderstorm. "Sprites appear over most thunderstorms," says Colin Price of Tel Aviv University. “But until recently we haven't seen them. They happen high in the sky and last only a fraction of a second. " While much speculation continues as to the cause or function of these mysterious flares in the sky, Price claims it may explain some of the bizarre UFO sightings.
The sprites are described as flashes high in the atmosphere, between 56 and 128 km from the surface, much higher than between 11 and 16 km, where the usual tongues of lightning are recorded.
Lightning from a thunderstorm causes an electric field to form at the top, producing a flash of light called a sprite. Scientists now know that only a certain type of lightning can trigger sprites high in the sky, Price explained.
Although sprites have been around for millions of years, they were first discovered and documented only by accident in 1989, when a scientist studying the stars calibrated a camera aimed at the distant atmosphere where the sprites originate.
Sprites, which only occur in conjunction with a thunderstorm, never spontaneously appear and resemble similar natural phenomena that atmospheric electricians have nicknamed 'elves', 'goblins' and 'trolls,' Price argues. These flashes are so called because they kind of 'dance' in the sky,this may explain some of the UFO reports.
Today, scientists continue to study the phenomenon to better understand its structure. Using remote cameras mounted on rooftops, researchers will be able to observe thunderstorms that produce sprites and obtain 3D images of the phenomenon.
Applying new shooting techniques has opened up a circular sprite structure that is very similar to the candles in a birthday cake. Using the triangulation method, Price and his colleagues were able to compute the sprite sizes. Sprite candles are up to 24km high and a cluster of candles is 72km wide.
Due to the fact that sprites occur at high altitudes, they can also affect the chemical composition of the Earth's ozone layer. Because sprites are relatively rare, and the global impact is likely negligible, Price said. Scientists have yet to find out.
Sprites over a thunderstorm in Kansas on August 10, 2000, observed in the mesosphere at an altitude of 50-90 km, as a response to powerful lightning strikes from tropospheric thunderstorms. (Photo: Walter Lyons, FMA Research, Fort Collins, Colorado).