For the first time, scientists have been able to study the mysterious "blue jets" found in the Earth's upper atmosphere. Many call these blue jets red sprites or halos and they are considered extremely rare, making them difficult to record and study.

Airplane pilots have reported them as some luminous sky events or more simply, different forms of lightning that strike on thunderstorm cloud tops. This new study is based on hundreds of images and observations from lower Earth orbit, aboard the International Space Station. European Space Agency astronaut Andreas Morgensen was able to capture these blue jets during a thunderstorm over Bay of Bengal in India in September 2015.

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In this new study, Morgensen and researchers from the Denmark National Space Institute confirmed the existence of this mysterious atmospheric phenomena. In addition, this study also call for further research into these blue jets in future mission aboard the orbiting space laboratory.

During a storm, negative and positive ions collide within electricity streaking through cloud layers. When air currents disrupt these thunderstorm cloud layers, the electrical charges become jumbled up, making these different from the electrical charge of the planet. 

However, instead of these electrical current discharges striking the surface of Earth, this electricity gets transferred into space, revealing these sprites, halos or blue jets above the clouds, and making them difficult to observe and study.

Past studies involved satellites to observe space lightning, but the views are not ideal to collect data. However, when positioned in lower Earth orbit, around 250 miles above the surface of the Earth, the ISS becomes ideal to observe these events.

In September 2015, Morgensen was able to record 245 blue flashes of space lightning above the clouds during a 160 second long video. These flashes are estimated to be one kilometer wide and 18 kilometers in altitude.

To date, it is still unknown what exactly causes these blue jets, electric flashes or space lightning. Scientists added that these electrical charges within thunderstorms could reverse the chemistry of Earth's upper atmosphere that can affect the radiation surrounding the planet, causing these blue jets to appear as red sprites.

This new study was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.