Spectacular sprite

Gemini Observatory’s north cloud cam atop Mauna Kea captures a lightning sprite, otherwise known as “upward lightning,” early Monday morning. According to National Geographic, these rare events were thought to be a myth until photographed in 1989. Lightning sprites can reach the edge of space and are thought to be produced when discharged electricity shoots out from the top of a cloud during powerful thunderstorms or hurricanes, according to the magazine.