Red sprites captured over Almeria and Valencia during Mediterranean thunderstorm
High-altitude red sprites were photographed from Almeria and Ayora in Valencia on the early morning of September 10, linked to distant lightning over the Mediterranean.
During the early hours of September 10, observers in southern Spain captured rare red sprites, fleeting luminous events that occur 50 to 90 km above thunderstorms. Photographs were taken from the Almeria coast and from the Ayora observatory in Valencia, with AEMET publishing the latter images and storm chaser David Mancebo reporting around 14 sprites from the coast. The sprites appeared despite the observation sites not being directly under the storm, and were traced to a strong positive lightning discharge of about +129.2 kA that struck the Mediterranean roughly 220 km south of Ayora at 2.52 am.
NASA classifies such phenomena as Transient Luminous Events, often resembling jellyfish-like shapes and lasting only milliseconds. Experts note that clear, dark skies and high-quality cameras improve the chances of recording these brief events.
Why it matters
The sightings illustrate how powerful distant lightning can generate rare high-altitude electrical displays visible far from the storm.
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