Red Sprites over Horní Ves, Czech Republic, on 22 July 2025, 3:06:29 CEST
If Scottish physicist Charles Wilson (1869–1959) had known what he would cause with his discovery of an unconfirmed phenomenon that he himself allegedly saw (in 1924), but was first recorded by physicists in 1989, he would probably have whistled with joy. Upper-atmospheric lightning, a still unexplored celestial phenomenon, is a welcome sight for all “hardcore” astrophotography enthusiasts, as it is very fleeting. It lasts only about 1/100 of a second and occurs above massive storm systems as the counterpart of the CG+ discharge in a storm cloud.
I was lucky with capturing the phenomenon on 21 July, 2025, over Horní Ves of Seč Lake from Ústupky Czech Republic. The storm itself was located about 250 km far away from me in Germany, in the direction of Munich. All sprites occured during twilight, thus the sky is not dark but blue. In fact, four phenomena appeared, the most notable are the published three.
Used Canon Ra, Sigma 50mm, f1.4, ISO 2500, 6s exposures (from tripod)
Red Sprites over Horní Ves, Czech Republic, on 22 July 2025, 2:46:11 CEST
Red Sprites over Horní Ves, Czech Republic, on 22 July 2025, 2:53:05 CEST
