Himayalas became the center of attraction after multiple rare 'Gigantic Jets' were spotted in the sky. US space agency NASA shared the Himalayas' Gigantic Jets pic on its official website and also revealed the countries where the cosmos wonders were visible. Termed as lightning bolts, the gigantic jets soared from a thunderstorm and were visible towards China and Bhutan. NASA shared Himalayas lightening bolt pic with the caption that reads-
"Pictured here are gigantic jets shooting up from a thunderstorm last week toward the Himalayan Mountains in China and Bhutan. The composite image captured four long jets that occurred only minutes apart. Gigantic jets, documented only in this century, are a type of lightning discharge that occurs between some thunderstorms and the Earth's ionosphere high above them.
They are an unusual type of lightning that is much different from regular cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning. The bottoms of gigantic jets appear similar to a cloud-to-above strike called blue jets, while the tops appear similar to upper-atmosphere red sprites. Although the mechanism and trigger that cause gigantic jets remains a topic of research, it is clear that the jets reduce charge imbalance between different parts of Earth's atmosphere. A good way to look for gigantic jets is to watch a powerful but distant thunderstorm from a clear location."
Himayalas' lightening bolt pic was shared by NASA as 'Astronomy Picture of the Day'.
Before 2024, lightening jets were captured on camera in 2019. As per reports, a passenger aboard a plane captured a picture of a massive jet of lightning that was visible beyond the wing of the airplane. As per NASA, the jet was photographed above Bhadrak, India, in a single 3.2-second exposure.
What are gigantic jets?
As per Weather.com, the gigantic jets are a type of upper-atmospheric lightning that occurs in the mesosphere, about 50-90 kilometres above the Earth's surface. They are rarely observed and are even more challenging to capture in photographs due to their short lifespan of only a few milliseconds. However, courtesy of advanced technology and luck, NASA was able to capture a spectacular image of this rare event over the Himalayas.