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Huge Red Sprites seen over Northern Territory

The following is an unedited Press Release issued at the beginning of December, 1997.

>>>
>>>PRESS RELEASE
>>>
>>>"Huge jellyfish-shaped lights in the sky above Australia's Northern
>>Territory."
>>>
>>>A research team from the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, working
>>>at "Window on the Wetlands" (60 km from Darwin) have captured 72 images of
>>>"Red Sprites" on video tape on Wednesday night, 26th November.  These red
>>>sprites are believed to be produced by an electrical discharge from the top
>>>of a thunder cloud (about 10 km altitude) to the base of the ionosphere (90
>>>km altitude).  The jellyfish-shaped luminosity usually extends from 50 km
>>>to 80 km and so is 30 km from bottom to top and generally about 50 km wide.
>>>The dozen or so "jellyfish tentacles" hanging down are only about 1 km in
>>>diameter.  All of the 72 red sprites observed on 26th November are believed
>>>to have occurred above the Wingate Mountains, about 250 km south of Darwin.
>>>
>>>Such "Red Sprites" were discovered accidentally on tape from a very
>>>sensitive video camera under test in America a few years ago.  Until now,
>>>the only ground-based video images have been made in the USA, mainly in
>>>Colorado, though some have been observed from the Space Shuttle.  The Otago
>>>team, lead by Professor Dowden, had previously established a link between
>>>very long wavelength (15 km) radio echoes and red sprites in Colorado and
>>>deduced that such radio echoes recorded in the Darwin area during the last
>>>Wet season (1996/97) meant that luminous red sprites must occur above the
>>>Northern Territory also.
>>>
>>>Although this is the first proved (video imaged) sighting of red sprites
>>>from the ground outside the USA, such red sprites must have occurred above
>>>NT every Wet season for millions of years.  They rarely last more than a
>>>tenth of a second and are generally faint, but some - certainly one and
>>>maybe up to nine of the 72 caught on video on Wednesday night - can be seen
>>>by the naked eye if one is well away from city lights and looking in the
>>>right direction.  Such red sprites must surely have been seen by the
>>>Aboriginal peoples in the past, particularly before modern man polluted the
>>>night sky with artificial lighting.  Is there an oral tradition of such
>>>sightings?
>>>
>>>The Otago team (Richard Dowden, John Bahr, Simon Hardman and James
>>>Brundell) are indebted to the Department of Parks and Wildlife for the use
>>>of Window on the Wetlands as an observatory and to Professor Zen Kawasaki
>>>of Osaka University, Japan, who is currently in Darwin researching
>>>lightning and lent a sensitive video camera for this purpose.
>>>========================================================
>>>Caption information for photograph available on request:
>>>
>>>Photograph of the video screen.  The jellyfish-shaped luminosity (top left)
>>>extends from 50 km altitude at the bottom to 80 km (260,000 feet) at the
>>>top.  The side to side width is about 50 km (30 miles).  The dozen or so
>>>"jellyfish tentacles" hanging down are only about 1 km in diameter.  The
>>>numbers in white give the date and time in GMT to a hundredth of a second.
>>>In NT local time this is 9:50 pm.
>>>========================================================

>>===============================================
>>Tempory address on campaign chasing Red and VLF Sprites:
>>(until 6th December):
>>
>>Prof. Richard L Dowden
>>
>>Coolibah Resort
>>91 Aralia Street
>>Nightcliff
>>Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, 0810
>>
>>Room Phone: +61 8 8985 4166
>>Motel Fax : +61 8 8985 4979
>>Cell Phone: +61 15 181 063 (Roaming from NZ)  [leave a message]
>>Email --- : dowden@otago.ac.nz (as usual)
>>