High above the Earth’s surface, where commercial airliners cruise through the boundless expanse of the sky, something extraordinary recently unfolded—an encounter with a gigantic blue jet. The phenomenon, both captivating and rare, was caught on camera from the flight deck of an airliner at an astonishing altitude of 40,000 feet.
The video footage, which has since gone viral, showcases the blue jet extending upward into the inky blackness of space, surrounded by a sea of stars. The striking contrast between the brilliant blue discharge and the dark backdrop of the stratosphere is nothing short of awe-inspiring.
The storm was located over the Bay on Bengal off the north Tamil Nadu coast in India.
Gigantic blue jets are a rare type of electrical discharge that occurs high above thunderstorms, reaching altitudes of up to 50 kilometers (31 miles). These events are part of a family of phenomena known as transient luminous events, which also include sprites, elves, and blue starters.
Blue jets are characterized by their blue and sometimes reddish-violet coloration and occur when there is a sudden release of electrical energy during a thunderstorm. They typically emanate from the tops of thunderstorm clouds, traveling upward in a branching or tree-like pattern.
Despite their stunning appearance, gigantic blue jets remain elusive and poorly understood. They were first captured on film in 1994, and since then, researchers have been studying them to gain insights into the electrical processes occurring within thunderstorms and the upper atmosphere.
Maybe it’s not an electrical phenomenon that occurs over thunderstorms at all, but a secret space weapon?