红色精灵与绿树

2023年9月18日

The Red Sprite and the Tree
Credit & Copyright: Maxime Villaeys

Explanation: The sprite and tree could hardly be more different. To start, the red sprite is an unusual form of lightning, while the tree is a common plant. The sprite is far away — high in Earth’s atmosphere, while the tree is nearby — only about a football field away. The sprite is fast — electrons streaming up and down at near light’s speed, while the tree is slow — wood anchored to the ground. The sprite is bright — lighting up the sky, while the tree is dim — shining mostly by reflected light. The sprite was fleeting — lasting only a small fraction of a second, while the tree is durable — living now for many years. Both however, when captured together, appear oddly similar in this featured composite image captured early this month in France as a thunderstorm passed over mountains of the Atlantic Pyrenees.

Your Sky Surprise: What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)

Tomorrow’s picture: star jets from webb

红色精灵与绿树
影像提供与版权: Maxime Villaeys

说明: 很难找到比红色精灵与绿树差异更大的对比。首先，红色精灵是一种不寻常形式的闪电，而树是一种常见的植物。红色精灵远在地球大气的高处，而树则近在身边，相去大约只有100公尺。红色精灵发展极快，其内的电子以接近光速的速度向上及向下移动，而固定在地面的树之成长则很缓慢。红色精灵很明亮，足以照亮天空，而树主要是反射光，因此很昏暗。此外，红色精灵转瞬即逝，发光的时间持续不到1秒，而树很长寿，可以生存非常多年。然而，在这幅本月初摄于法国、时值一个雷暴系统通过大西洋庇里牛斯省内的山脉之组合主题影像里，当两者一起入镜时，它们的外观却意外的神似。

您的天空惊喜: APOD在你生日那天展示了哪张照片？（1995年后）

明日的图片: star jets from webb