It has always been very difficult to detect “red goblins” recently observed from a science station in Chile.
But the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in the Atacama Desert was able to capture the phenomenon popularly known as “red atmospheric elves” in image (red sprite).
The image shows bright reddish vertical stripes captured by ESO’s La Silla Observatory, which, despite its mythological name, has a meteorological explanation.
“This is a form of lightning that occurs above storm clouds, discharging electricity into the Earth’s atmosphere at an altitude of 50 to 90 km,” explains ESO.
“Not only do they occur much higher in the sky than normal lightning, they are colder than the white lightning we usually see and appear much dimmer,” he adds.
It is a phenomenon rarely captured in imagery, although it can occasionally occur under favorable atmospheric conditions.
According to ESO, the first photographic record of this phenomenon was not obtained until 1989.
For a long time, his appearance gave rise to a large number of popular supernatural stories, which earned him the name “red goblins”.
double vision
The darkness of the Atacama Desert makes it an ideal place to observe the universe, which is why several telescopes and observatories are set up there.
Image: ESO
But this lack of light pollution also favors sightings of Earth-like phenomena such as “red elves.”
The photo, released this week by ESO, also shows a greenish tint known as atmospheric luminescence on the horizon.air radiation), another phenomenon combined with “red elves”.
“Daytime sunlight removes electrons from the nitrogen and oxygen of Earth’s atmosphere, and at night these electrons recombine with atoms and molecules, causing them to glow,” explains ESO.
“Typically, atmospheric luminescence can only be seen in very dark skies where there is no light pollution,” he adds.
– This text was published at https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/geral-62715328.
source: Noticias
