‘Red Spirits’ and Other Rare Atmospheric Phenomena: What Are They, How Do They Happen (and Where)?

They were known and expected to happen, but until the end of the last century no one was able to photograph them, also because they last for a very short time. They are what are called “Red spirits” or “red ghosts”, one of the (rare) phenomena in the upper atmosphereThey are very fast flashes of red color with a specific shape. Cumulonimbus cloud tops in strong thunderstorms develop to heights of up to 50-80 km.At the upper limit of red spirits, green lights, called “green ghosts”, are seen, which are believed to be caused by excited states of oxygen molecules.

Optical phenomena in the atmosphere

“It falls within the broad framework of optical phenomena in the atmosphere, when the radiation emitted by these phenomena becomes visible, in A set of electromagnetic waves that our eyes can see.. However, sometimes they occur at high altitudes and last for so short a time that they are difficult to observe. These phenomena can be caused by solar radiation, as in the case of rainbows, halos and aurora borealis. Or they are the result of something developing within the atmosphere: for example lightning, which is determined by a difference in electrical potential.”

red spirits

“Red spirits are in the second state. In the upper atmosphere only certain energy levels of the atoms of the substances present, for example oxygen and nitrogen, are excited. They present themselves before our eyes colored red. And’ They are very rare to see because they are transient phenomena.The best way to capture them is with high-speed video: by isolating individual frames, it is possible to capture phenomena that are almost impossible to observe with the naked eye.” Red spirits have also been observed and photographed “from above” by astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Other phenomena

NileIn the upper atmosphere there are also other, more strange and rare phenomena.some of which have yet to be fully explained. The truth is that we still know very little about these areas of the planet.

(He answered Dino Zardi, Professor of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Trentocreator and scientific director of the Rovereto Meteorological Festival)