Extract from ABC News
A West Australian photographer has captured on camera one of the world's rarest natural phenomena that's almost impossible to see with the naked eye.
Kimberley man JJ Rao was out shooting a wet-season thunderstorm just outside of Derby when he was lucky enough to snap several red sprites.
"About the blink of an eye and it's gone," he said.
"You could sort of describe it as huge, feathery tendrils of reds and purples and specks of really bright red."
He said the sprites — large electrical discharges that can form high above active thunderstorms and the ozone layer — were spectacular to see.
The environmental scientist said the remote location and limited moonlight made for unusual yet perfect shooting conditions.
"It was pretty dark, a little out of town and with a clear view out to a dark sky.
"You think [your] mind might be playing tricks on you ... without a camera to actually capture it, it can be quite difficult for people to say that was definitely a sprite."
Mr Rao said sprites appeared as a "fuzzy greyish-red blob" to the naked eye, but when caught on camera they could resemble a variety of shapes such as a tree, jellyfish, a column and carrot.
"They're much more than just fuzzy blobs, they're probably some of the most intricate, natural phenomenon in the world."
Mr Rao said he hoped his images would help researchers to further their understanding into the atmospheric event.
Nature's neon lights
National University of Australia astrophysicist Brad Tucker said people who captured the large-scale electrical discharges on camera or video were "lucky".
"There's belief that the first visual reports are from the early turn of the century," Dr Tucker said.
"Obviously photography wasn't what it was today and they're really rare to see, so generally it's a rare phenomenon to see regardless.
"They don't happen every thunderstorm and they're definitely not visible every thunderstorm, which makes capturing them really rare and special."
The astrophysicist said he had never seen "nature's neon lights" in person.
"I am a bit jealous when people capture them.
"This is one of the benefits of when you have a country like Australia that has access to lots of dark skies and ability to see these sorts of things.
"Mapping and studying them is quite important. As the more you get these photos and data, the better they can actually be studied going into the future."
You can follow Mr Rao's work via https://naturebyjj.com
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