Mysterious Red 'Jellyfish' Lights Falling From Space Spark 'Alien Signals', 'Ghostly' Buzz: Here's What NASA Reveals

Mysterious pillars of red light, apparently falling from space, have sparked curiosity and social media frenzy across the globe. Many internet users speculated that the flashes could be related to alien signals, but scientists and space agencies have confirmed that the ghostly flashes spotted are a rare atmospheric phenomenon called 'red sprites'.

Recently, NASA's citizen science project Spritacular posted a stunning photo taken by French contributor Nicolas Escurat. The image reveals a bright red flash above a thunderstorm cloud, offering a rare and clear view of one of Earth’s most elusive electrical events.

What Are 'Red Sprites'?

Sprites are short bursts of electrical energy that occur way above the storm clouds, at altitudes of about 50 to 90 km in the mesosphere, where the Earth's atmosphere thins into space. Rather than regular lightning, which strikes downward, sprites shoot upward during powerful thunderstorms.

These flashes often take the shape of vertical red pillars or jellyfish-shaped formations. Their upper part glows reddish-orange, whereas faint bluish tendrils extend downward, creating an illusion of luminous roots reaching into the clouds below.

According to researchers, sprites are initiated when extremely strong lightning strikes the ground, momentarily disturbing the electric field above the storm. This disturbance releases energy into the upper atmosphere, forming the red glow seen from space.

This fleeting red flash above a thunderstorm cloud is one of Earth's most elusive electrical phenomena!

They're called sprites!

Fun fact: This image was captured by citizen scientist Nicolas Escurat through the citizen science project Spritacular. ✨ pic.twitter.com/ER5uyB5wnO

— NASA Science (@NASAScience_) December 5, 2025

Rare Sightings Captured Earlier

Earlier, on July 3, 2025, NASA astronaut Nichole Ayers captured a massive red pillar of light from the International Space Station, ISS, erupting above a storm system. The dramatic shot renewed interest in sprite research globally.

On May 19, 2022, two photographers recorded a record 105 red sprites rising simultaneously above the southern Tibetan Plateau. Chinese researchers later confirmed this as the largest single outbreak of sprites ever recorded over a South Asian storm. In Europe, Italian photographer Giacomo Venturin also photographed clusters of sprites from Monte Tomba, illuminating storm clouds over Austria nearly 300 kilometres away.

Why They Remain Ghostly And Mysterious

Sprites are part of a larger group of atmospheric phenomena called Transient Luminous Events (TLEs), which also include blue jets and elves. Though pilots reported these strange red flashes for nearly a century, scientists did not secure the first confirmed image until 1989.

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Because sprites last just a few milliseconds and are usually hidden behind thick thunderclouds, studying them from the ground is extremely difficult. The most clear observations now come from satellites and space stations. Unlike regular lightning, sprites are made of cold plasma, not superheated air. NASA says that the signature red color of a sprite is created by the electrical energy clashing with the nitrogen molecules in the upper atmosphere.

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Despite online speculation linking the lights to extraterrestrial activity, scientists stress that sprites are purely natural phenomena driven by storm dynamics. “These are not signals from space,” researchers reiterated. “They are a dramatic reminder of how active and complex Earth’s atmosphere really is.”