# @europeanspaceagency on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DTTCLMeDBxT
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/53939405-europeanspaceagency-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/f459135f94.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-01-09T16:55:45.000+00:00

## Caption

Have you ever seen lightning reach space? ⚡️

From 400 km above Earth, astronauts on the @iss have captured one of the atmosphere’s rarest light shows: a blue jet.

In the image, @astro_ayers caught a giant spark erupting from a summer thunderstorm - a brilliant blue beam shooting upwards, followed by red flashes spreading like glowing tentacles across the sky. The entire event lasted less than a second.

These flashes are known as Transient Luminous Events. They occur high above storm clouds, between 40 and 80 km up, which makes them extremely difficult to spot from the ground.

Now swipe to see it in motion:
In July 2024, @jeanette.epps managed to record a rare giant jet in slow motion, revealing its blue and red bursts in extraordinary detail. Her footage builds on earlier discoveries - including the first pulsating blue jet captured from space by @astro_andreas a decade ago.

These observations are part of the Thor-Davis experiment, led by @dtudk together with us. Scientists are studying how lightning high in the atmosphere may influence air chemistry - and even greenhouse gases.

Lightning strikes our atmosphere almost every second.
Yet its upper-atmosphere effects remain full of mystery.

📸 @NASA/N. Ayers
📹 NASA/J. Epps

## Stats

- **Views:** 731,865
- **Likes:** 280,503
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 1,044

## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ESA - European Space Agency | @europeanspaceagency | https://gondola.cc/europeanspaceagency | Government Organization |
| International Space Station | @iss | https://gondola.cc/iss | Government Organization |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Editor |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Senior Social Media Manager |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Social Media Manager |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Copywriter |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Community Manager |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Social Media Coordinator |
| J.L.Lopez | @xandler80 | https://gondola.cc/xandler80 | Social Media Strategist |

## Tags

europeanspaceagency

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