Feel the thunder ⚡    This nebula-like formation is lightning—as seen from space. It’s illuminating the clouds during a storm off the coast of North Carolina in this photograph, taken from the International Space Station (ISS) as it orbited 260 miles (about 418 kilometers) above.    The space station provides a unique vantage point that allows us to see cloud tops, and associated atmospheric phenomena like these “”sprites,”” from far above. Sprites appear to be connected to positively-charged cloud-to-ground lightning strikes. The lightning interacts with atmospheric nitrogen, creating an electrical breakdown that produces a flash of red light.  Sprites can be challenging to photograph. The night sky must be clear of clouds to capture sprites from the station’s cupola windows, with precise timing. As Astro_Annimal has said, sprites are “”truly nature’s split-second art!””    Image description: Bursts of lightning illuminate the bottom left and center of the image. Clouds are illumina...