Video and photometric observations of a sprite in coincidence with a meteor-triggered jet event
- Space and Atmospheric Sciences Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico (United States)
- Atmospheric and Climate Sciences Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico (United States)
- Mission Research Corporation, Nashua, New Hampshire (United States)
- FMA Research Inc., Fort Collins, Colorado (United States)
- Space Dynamics Laboratory, Utah State University, Logan (United States)
Video and photometric observations of a meteor-triggered ''jet'' event in association with the occurrence of a sprite were collected during the SPRITES '98 campaign. The event raises interest in the question of possible meteoric triggering of upper atmospheric transients as originally suggested by Muller [1995]. The event consisted of three stages: (1) the observation of a moderately bright meteor, (2) the development of a sprite in the immediate vicinity of the meteor as the meteor reached no lower than {approx}70 km altitude, and (3) a slower-forming jet of luminosity that appeared during the late stages of the sprite and propagated back up the ionization trail of the meteor. The event is analyzed in terms of its geometry, its relevance to the meteor, and the implications to existing theories for sprite formation. (c) 1999 American Geophysical Union.
- OSTI ID:
- 20215612
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 104, Issue D24; Other Information: PBD: 27 Dec 1999; ISSN 0148-0227
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Generation of elves by sprites and jets
Optical, radio and x-ray radiation of red sprites produced by runaway air breakdown