1 00:00:04,450 --> 00:00:06,384 (thunder rumbling) 2 00:00:06,418 --> 00:00:10,655 ...a team of scientists takes to the air 3 00:00:10,689 --> 00:00:13,124 to investigate a mystery. 4 00:00:13,158 --> 00:00:14,892 I reported it, and nobody believed me. 5 00:00:14,927 --> 00:00:16,360 (laughs) 6 00:00:16,395 --> 00:00:20,098 NARRATOR: They're trying to catch a burst of energy 7 00:00:20,132 --> 00:00:22,734 so fleeting and hard to see 8 00:00:22,768 --> 00:00:28,039 that scientists call it by the ethereal name of "sprite." 9 00:00:28,073 --> 00:00:31,609 EARLE WILLIAMS: The bolts that cause sprites are super-bolts, 10 00:00:31,643 --> 00:00:33,978 the kind of lightning that'll blow your TV sky high. 11 00:00:34,012 --> 00:00:36,514 NARRATOR: Unlike the brilliant Northern Lights, 12 00:00:36,548 --> 00:00:40,118 created in the upper atmosphere 13 00:00:40,152 --> 00:00:42,720 by streams of charged solar particles, 14 00:00:42,755 --> 00:00:45,056 sprites are high-altitude sparks 15 00:00:45,090 --> 00:00:48,993 that originate right here on Earth. 16 00:00:49,027 --> 00:00:50,728 They're leading researchers on a chase 17 00:00:50,763 --> 00:00:54,132 into the far reaches of the upper atmosphere 18 00:00:54,166 --> 00:00:56,501 to a little-explored region, 19 00:00:56,535 --> 00:01:01,839 home to many mysterious phenomena. 20 00:01:01,874 --> 00:01:05,276 You can see airglow, that's more diffuse 21 00:01:05,310 --> 00:01:07,445 and just in layers than the curtain-like aurora. 22 00:01:07,479 --> 00:01:08,913 NARRATOR: NOVA takes to the air 23 00:01:08,947 --> 00:01:10,948 on a quest to record these elusive events. 24 00:01:10,983 --> 00:01:14,152 Sprite! 25 00:01:14,186 --> 00:01:17,588 NARRATOR: And the effort also continues above 26 00:01:17,623 --> 00:01:21,225 from the vantage point of space, where the work had its beginning 27 00:01:21,260 --> 00:01:23,594 during the ill-fated Columbia mission, 28 00:01:23,629 --> 00:01:27,899 with Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. 29 00:01:27,933 --> 00:01:30,968 I asked him, "Please bring me one sprite image." 30 00:01:31,003 --> 00:01:33,404 He said, "Don't worry, I'll get you a couple." 31 00:01:33,438 --> 00:01:37,642 NARRATOR: Ramon's colleagues now continue where he left off. 32 00:01:37,676 --> 00:01:39,644 SATOSHI FURUKAWA (translated): We must take over their work. 33 00:01:39,678 --> 00:01:42,914 I thought that was the survivors' duty. 34 00:01:42,948 --> 00:01:44,515 NARRATOR: Their dramatic discoveries 35 00:01:44,550 --> 00:01:47,885 are revealing that we live on an electrified planet, 36 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:53,891 surrounded by a global circuit that rings the Earth. 37 00:01:53,926 --> 00:01:58,362 And like a planetary heartbeat, we can now detect it. 38 00:01:58,397 --> 00:02:00,331 It is like taking the EKG of the planet. 39 00:02:00,365 --> 00:02:02,700 NARRATOR: High above the air we breathe, 40 00:02:02,734 --> 00:02:05,403 at the boundary of a new frontier, 41 00:02:05,437 --> 00:02:08,739 journey with us to the edge of space, 42 00:02:08,774 --> 00:02:11,642 right now on NOVA. 43 00:02:27,059 --> 00:02:33,097 Major funding for NOVA is provided by the following: 44 00:02:33,131 --> 00:02:36,601 The Boeing Company. 45 00:02:40,939 --> 00:02:43,074 The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. 46 00:02:44,843 --> 00:02:48,613 And by contributions to your PBS station from: 47 00:02:52,284 --> 00:02:54,418 Additional funding from: 48 00:02:56,097 --> 00:02:58,097 In the darkness of space 49 00:02:58,123 --> 00:03:01,125 there are violent forces at work. 50 00:03:02,728 --> 00:03:06,297 Cosmic rays shoot across the universe, 51 00:03:06,331 --> 00:03:10,868 asteroids billions of years old stream towards Earth, 52 00:03:10,903 --> 00:03:14,205 and solar winds wreak havoc. 53 00:03:14,239 --> 00:03:18,175 Their destination: the edge of space. 54 00:03:20,112 --> 00:03:22,113 Our upper atmosphere: 55 00:03:22,147 --> 00:03:24,582 it's Earth's first line of defense 56 00:03:24,616 --> 00:03:26,717 against the hurtling space rocks 57 00:03:26,752 --> 00:03:29,654 that we see flare into brilliance as meteors; 58 00:03:29,688 --> 00:03:34,525 a protective buffer against the high-energy solar wind 59 00:03:34,559 --> 00:03:38,596 that creates the beautiful Northern Lights; 60 00:03:38,630 --> 00:03:43,367 and crucially, it is a key link in a global electric circuit 61 00:03:43,402 --> 00:03:45,536 that blankets the planet from pole to pole. 62 00:03:47,739 --> 00:03:49,774 Far below, the surface of the Earth 63 00:03:49,808 --> 00:03:54,245 is hammered by eight million bolts of lightning every day: 64 00:03:54,279 --> 00:03:56,747 up to 100 strikes every second. 65 00:03:56,782 --> 00:04:01,819 Most lightning strikes from the clouds 66 00:04:01,853 --> 00:04:04,689 towards the surface of the Earth. 67 00:04:04,723 --> 00:04:08,025 But occasionally, the most powerful bolts 68 00:04:08,060 --> 00:04:13,764 are accompanied by a ghostly and fleeting flash above the clouds, 69 00:04:13,799 --> 00:04:16,968 reaching all the way to the very edge of space, 70 00:04:17,002 --> 00:04:19,770 but lasting only milliseconds. 71 00:04:19,805 --> 00:04:22,373 It's been a decades-long challenge 72 00:04:22,407 --> 00:04:26,310 to understand these mysterious bursts of light. 73 00:04:28,013 --> 00:04:33,084 Now, from the high vantage of the International Space Station, 74 00:04:33,118 --> 00:04:35,519 it may finally be possible to capture images 75 00:04:35,554 --> 00:04:37,421 of these rarely seen events 76 00:04:37,456 --> 00:04:41,959 in the boundary between Earth and space. 77 00:04:45,230 --> 00:04:47,732 But what defines this region? 78 00:04:47,766 --> 00:04:51,802 Earth's atmosphere is a thin blanket of gas. 79 00:04:51,837 --> 00:04:55,473 The troposphere is the lowest and densest layer. 80 00:04:55,507 --> 00:04:59,810 All of life as we know it depends on this relatively thin, 81 00:04:59,845 --> 00:05:04,382 five- to ten-mile-thick band of protective air. 82 00:05:04,416 --> 00:05:07,518 Its thickness varies with latitude and the seasons. 83 00:05:07,552 --> 00:05:10,054 This is where most weather occurs, 84 00:05:10,088 --> 00:05:12,623 including the towering thunderclouds 85 00:05:12,657 --> 00:05:15,559 that generate lightning. 86 00:05:15,594 --> 00:05:18,829 A high-altitude helium-filled balloon 87 00:05:18,864 --> 00:05:21,098 ascends quickly through this region 88 00:05:21,133 --> 00:05:25,970 and enters the stratosphere, where most jet planes fly 89 00:05:26,004 --> 00:05:28,572 and where the ozone layer is found, 90 00:05:28,607 --> 00:05:31,742 which absorbs the Sun's ultraviolet light 91 00:05:31,777 --> 00:05:34,211 that can damage living things. 92 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,482 Moving into this hostile environment, 93 00:05:38,517 --> 00:05:42,219 the air pressure drops, causing the balloon to expand. 94 00:05:42,254 --> 00:05:48,592 Up here, the lack of oxygen would quickly kill a person. 95 00:05:48,627 --> 00:05:53,931 The stratosphere reaches an altitude of about 30 miles. 96 00:05:53,965 --> 00:05:58,069 Eventually, the balloon cannot rise any higher, 97 00:05:58,103 --> 00:06:00,905 but the ever-thinning upper atmosphere, 98 00:06:00,939 --> 00:06:02,606 including the ionosphere, 99 00:06:02,641 --> 00:06:05,876 extends another 500 to 600 miles, 100 00:06:05,911 --> 00:06:08,012 even beyond the orbital height 101 00:06:08,046 --> 00:06:10,081 of the International Space Station, 102 00:06:10,115 --> 00:06:12,483 which circles Earth 103 00:06:12,517 --> 00:06:18,622 at an altitude of between 200 and 270 miles. 104 00:06:18,657 --> 00:06:23,894 From here, the ISS looks down on the planet. 105 00:06:23,929 --> 00:06:25,796 At this altitude, 106 00:06:25,831 --> 00:06:28,666 the environment is instantly lethal. 107 00:06:28,700 --> 00:06:30,334 The extremely low pressure 108 00:06:30,368 --> 00:06:34,371 would cause a person's body fluids to vaporize in seconds, 109 00:06:34,406 --> 00:06:39,210 while the little air that remains can reach temperatures 110 00:06:39,244 --> 00:06:43,581 of more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. 111 00:06:43,615 --> 00:06:46,484 There are also dangers of radiation exposure 112 00:06:46,518 --> 00:06:48,052 in this forbidding atmosphere. 113 00:06:48,086 --> 00:06:52,189 But safely aboard the ISS, 114 00:06:52,224 --> 00:06:57,361 an international team of astronauts lives and works, 115 00:06:57,395 --> 00:07:01,031 including, on this mission, Satoshi Furukawa, 116 00:07:01,066 --> 00:07:03,434 a native of Yokohama, Japan. 117 00:07:03,468 --> 00:07:06,036 An ardent baseball fan, 118 00:07:06,071 --> 00:07:09,607 he takes advantage of zero gravity to play a solo game. 119 00:07:13,445 --> 00:07:16,914 A medical doctor, one of Furukawa's jobs on the station 120 00:07:16,948 --> 00:07:19,683 is to study the effects of micro gravity 121 00:07:19,718 --> 00:07:21,051 on the human body. 122 00:07:21,086 --> 00:07:26,991 He often conducts research as both doctor and patient. 123 00:07:27,025 --> 00:07:29,360 He is also the mission photographer. 124 00:07:32,097 --> 00:07:35,166 Using an extremely sensitive high-definition camera, 125 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:38,035 Furukawa will capture nighttime images 126 00:07:38,069 --> 00:07:41,105 of Earth's upper atmosphere. 127 00:07:43,708 --> 00:07:47,978 The ISS is an ideal platform to study the edge of space, 128 00:07:48,013 --> 00:07:51,382 thanks to the Cupola observation window. 129 00:07:51,416 --> 00:07:55,886 It offers a priceless view of space and the planet below. 130 00:07:55,921 --> 00:07:59,557 Its heavy shutters open to reveal windows 131 00:07:59,591 --> 00:08:01,825 for photography and viewing. 132 00:08:06,031 --> 00:08:08,866 It's from here that Furukawa will aim his camera 133 00:08:08,900 --> 00:08:12,269 when the station's orbit takes it into the Earth's shadow, 134 00:08:12,304 --> 00:08:15,306 which it passes into about every 90 minutes 135 00:08:15,340 --> 00:08:18,275 as it orbits the planet. 136 00:08:18,310 --> 00:08:22,813 Designed to capture never-before-seen phenomena, 137 00:08:22,847 --> 00:08:26,250 it is so sensitive that it can shoot color images 138 00:08:26,284 --> 00:08:30,354 in near total darkness, bringing to light 139 00:08:30,388 --> 00:08:34,592 places once hidden by the blackness of space. 140 00:08:37,762 --> 00:08:39,830 He's hoping to capture images 141 00:08:39,864 --> 00:08:45,035 of an elusive and mysterious form of high-altitude lightning 142 00:08:45,070 --> 00:08:51,909 only recently discovered and still little understood. 143 00:08:51,943 --> 00:08:54,778 The story of these strange lights in the sky 144 00:08:54,813 --> 00:08:57,815 began one night in 1973, 145 00:08:57,849 --> 00:09:01,752 when a U.S. Air Force pilot named Ronald Williams 146 00:09:01,786 --> 00:09:06,290 was surprised by an unusual sight. 147 00:09:06,324 --> 00:09:08,626 There was a typhoon over the South China Sea. 148 00:09:08,660 --> 00:09:10,427 I happened to be flying over the typhoon. 149 00:09:10,462 --> 00:09:14,665 And as I was going right towards the center of the typhoon, 150 00:09:14,699 --> 00:09:16,166 there was a big thunderstorm, 151 00:09:16,201 --> 00:09:18,302 just off the center of the typhoon. 152 00:09:18,336 --> 00:09:20,938 All of a sudden, just by accident, 153 00:09:20,972 --> 00:09:22,339 I was watching it because 154 00:09:22,374 --> 00:09:24,341 if I had been doing anything else, I wouldn't have seen it. 155 00:09:24,376 --> 00:09:26,377 NARRATOR: Williams saw a bolt of lightning 156 00:09:26,411 --> 00:09:30,214 go straight up from the top of the clouds. 157 00:09:30,248 --> 00:09:33,017 When it came up, I happened to be watching it, 158 00:09:33,051 --> 00:09:35,085 and I just watched it go up. 159 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:37,421 I reported it, and nobody believed me. 160 00:09:37,455 --> 00:09:38,789 (laughs) 161 00:09:38,823 --> 00:09:40,824 They said, "Lightning don't go straight up. 162 00:09:40,859 --> 00:09:44,128 It has to discharge on something." 163 00:09:44,162 --> 00:09:48,232 NARRATOR: But it turned out that Williams was not the only pilot 164 00:09:48,266 --> 00:09:50,768 to see lightning emerge from the top of a cloud 165 00:09:50,802 --> 00:09:54,171 and shoot upward towards space. 166 00:09:54,205 --> 00:09:56,040 As sightings accumulated, 167 00:09:56,074 --> 00:09:59,410 they became a part of aviation folklore-- 168 00:09:59,444 --> 00:10:01,779 rare and unconfirmed events 169 00:10:01,813 --> 00:10:07,117 that hovered just outside the boundaries of real science-- 170 00:10:07,152 --> 00:10:10,354 until another chance sighting provided more evidence. 171 00:10:10,388 --> 00:10:12,956 EARLE WILLIAMS: A fellow by the name of Jack Winckler 172 00:10:12,991 --> 00:10:14,525 had some detectors out. 173 00:10:14,559 --> 00:10:15,959 He was looking for something else, 174 00:10:15,994 --> 00:10:17,628 but he discovered them by accident 175 00:10:17,662 --> 00:10:21,899 with equipment that was operated on dark nights in Minnesota. 176 00:10:21,933 --> 00:10:27,304 NARRATOR: While testing a low-light video camera in 1989, 177 00:10:27,339 --> 00:10:30,874 Jack Winckler and a team at the University of Minnesota 178 00:10:30,909 --> 00:10:33,677 accidentally captured a black and white image 179 00:10:33,712 --> 00:10:36,680 that seemed to show the elusive "upward lightning" 180 00:10:36,715 --> 00:10:40,150 the pilots had described. 181 00:10:40,185 --> 00:10:43,620 Fittingly, this ethereal phenomenon 182 00:10:43,655 --> 00:10:47,424 became known as a "sprite," 183 00:10:47,459 --> 00:10:52,963 a whimsical name that captures its fleeting nature. 184 00:10:52,997 --> 00:10:54,365 These giant pillars of light 185 00:10:54,399 --> 00:10:58,068 sparked an intensified interest in lightning 186 00:10:58,103 --> 00:11:00,504 and the dangers it presents to spacecraft 187 00:11:00,538 --> 00:11:02,206 during launch or landing. 188 00:11:08,046 --> 00:11:11,014 Today, astronaut Satoshi Furukawa 189 00:11:11,049 --> 00:11:13,517 is looking for thunderstorms. 190 00:11:13,551 --> 00:11:17,755 Sprites are only found where lightning is present. 191 00:11:17,789 --> 00:11:20,090 But spotting sprites isn't easy: 192 00:11:20,125 --> 00:11:22,459 they only accompany bolts of lightning 193 00:11:22,494 --> 00:11:25,696 over ten times more powerful than normal lightning. 194 00:11:29,534 --> 00:11:32,369 In ten minutes, it will be nightfall again, 195 00:11:32,404 --> 00:11:37,040 so Furukawa quickly prepares his camera. 196 00:11:39,277 --> 00:11:42,413 FURUKAWA: Recorder power is on. 197 00:11:42,447 --> 00:11:43,981 Monitor is on, too. 198 00:11:52,490 --> 00:11:54,758 NARRATOR: This specialized camera 199 00:11:54,793 --> 00:11:57,995 should be able to capture images of the elusive sprites, 200 00:11:58,029 --> 00:12:00,831 even in these low-light conditions. 201 00:12:00,865 --> 00:12:03,367 He'll need this extra sensitivity 202 00:12:03,401 --> 00:12:05,035 to catch a sprite. 203 00:12:10,475 --> 00:12:13,777 If any sprites appear, 204 00:12:13,812 --> 00:12:15,879 they will be above powerful bursts of lightning. 205 00:12:15,914 --> 00:12:17,548 Across the world, 206 00:12:17,582 --> 00:12:22,052 over 2,000 lightning bolts flash every minute, 207 00:12:22,086 --> 00:12:26,123 and over 20 million strike the U.S. each year. 208 00:12:26,157 --> 00:12:29,193 They're four to five times hotter 209 00:12:29,227 --> 00:12:32,563 than the surface of the Sun, and the most potent 210 00:12:32,597 --> 00:12:38,101 can discharge up to a billion volts of electricity. 211 00:12:38,136 --> 00:12:43,540 Unlike the superheated lightning flashing below the storm clouds, 212 00:12:43,575 --> 00:12:47,878 the sprites above are huge but electrically much weaker-- 213 00:12:47,912 --> 00:12:51,682 and faster, disappearing on average 214 00:12:51,716 --> 00:12:54,785 in less than 70 milliseconds. 215 00:12:58,022 --> 00:13:03,093 Furukawa maintains his vigil for several hours, 216 00:13:03,127 --> 00:13:07,097 but without much luck. 217 00:13:07,131 --> 00:13:10,267 FURUKAWA: Hmm, it's difficult... 218 00:13:12,937 --> 00:13:16,573 NARRATOR: His camera recorded a huge number of lightning flashes, 219 00:13:16,608 --> 00:13:19,409 but no sprites appeared above them. 220 00:13:19,444 --> 00:13:22,412 FURUKAWA: I felt like a hunter. 221 00:13:22,447 --> 00:13:26,016 It was impossible to predict where it would appear. 222 00:13:26,050 --> 00:13:29,219 NARRATOR: Though the search is frustrating and difficult, 223 00:13:29,254 --> 00:13:31,455 he is determined to capture a sprite, 224 00:13:31,489 --> 00:13:35,359 in part because of a letter he received 225 00:13:35,393 --> 00:13:38,362 during training for his ISS flight. 226 00:13:38,396 --> 00:13:43,200 The letter was from an Israeli lightning expert, Yoav Yair, 227 00:13:43,234 --> 00:13:46,503 who wrote to inquire about the mission. 228 00:13:46,538 --> 00:13:49,740 He enclosed a photo of Ilan Ramon, 229 00:13:49,774 --> 00:13:52,309 Israel's first astronaut 230 00:13:52,343 --> 00:13:56,013 and a crewmember of the ill-fated Columbia mission. 231 00:13:56,047 --> 00:13:58,448 Ramon had brought with him 232 00:13:58,483 --> 00:14:00,751 a high-sensitivity black and white camera 233 00:14:00,785 --> 00:14:04,655 to try to capture images of sprites from space. 234 00:14:04,689 --> 00:14:09,259 RAMON (recording): It's a big day for the Israeli science community. 235 00:14:09,294 --> 00:14:14,598 NARRATOR: Ramon's partner in the research was Professor Yoav Yair. 236 00:14:14,632 --> 00:14:17,434 I asked him, "Please bring me one sprite image." 237 00:14:17,468 --> 00:14:20,237 He said, "Don't worry, I'll get you a couple!" 238 00:14:20,271 --> 00:14:22,673 NARRATOR: After capturing over nine hours 239 00:14:22,707 --> 00:14:25,742 of thunderstorm footage on board, 240 00:14:25,777 --> 00:14:27,044 he succeeded, 241 00:14:27,078 --> 00:14:32,716 and transmitted several images of sprites back down to Earth. 242 00:14:32,750 --> 00:14:35,852 But tragically, Columbia never made it home. 243 00:14:35,887 --> 00:14:40,557 It disintegrated upon re-entry. 244 00:14:40,592 --> 00:14:44,428 Though debris was scattered widely, 245 00:14:44,462 --> 00:14:46,830 the camera that Ramon had used to capture sprite images 246 00:14:46,864 --> 00:14:48,198 somehow survived, 247 00:14:48,232 --> 00:14:51,134 with some of Ramon's work intact. 248 00:14:57,208 --> 00:15:00,110 One image of active lightning over Central Africa 249 00:15:00,144 --> 00:15:03,914 shows a bright flash of light above the lightning 250 00:15:03,948 --> 00:15:06,984 and arcing up towards space. 251 00:15:07,018 --> 00:15:09,186 It was a sprite. 252 00:15:09,220 --> 00:15:11,355 Ramon captured images like this one 253 00:15:11,389 --> 00:15:15,292 from several vantage points in orbit. 254 00:15:15,326 --> 00:15:19,229 Yair and his research team studied these photos 255 00:15:19,263 --> 00:15:20,831 and were surprised to discover 256 00:15:20,865 --> 00:15:22,265 how frequently sprite events occurred 257 00:15:22,300 --> 00:15:24,501 over large tropical storms, 258 00:15:24,535 --> 00:15:27,771 and how widely distributed they were. 259 00:15:27,805 --> 00:15:30,574 But there was still much to learn. 260 00:15:30,608 --> 00:15:36,380 Yair saw Furukawa's mission as a great opportunity 261 00:15:36,414 --> 00:15:38,815 to advance the understanding of sprites. 262 00:15:47,492 --> 00:15:49,459 FURUKAWA (translated): It's so touching. 263 00:15:49,494 --> 00:15:51,395 I can feel their passion. 264 00:15:51,429 --> 00:15:55,966 I was there at their scheduled landing spot 265 00:15:56,000 --> 00:15:58,568 and looking up at the sky. 266 00:15:58,603 --> 00:16:00,671 The Columbia never came back. 267 00:16:08,446 --> 00:16:11,314 They were my friends and my colleagues. 268 00:16:11,349 --> 00:16:15,352 I was very sad to lose them. 269 00:16:15,386 --> 00:16:18,522 At first, it was difficult to get back on track. 270 00:16:18,556 --> 00:16:22,092 I didn't feel like doing anything. 271 00:16:22,126 --> 00:16:23,460 Then I thought, 272 00:16:23,494 --> 00:16:27,431 "We must take over their work and move forward." 273 00:16:27,465 --> 00:16:31,468 I thought that was the survivors' duty. 274 00:16:31,502 --> 00:16:33,837 So I am honored and happy 275 00:16:33,871 --> 00:16:37,474 that I was given this chance in this way. 276 00:16:43,014 --> 00:16:46,316 NARRATOR: So nearly 250 miles above Earth, 277 00:16:46,350 --> 00:16:51,655 Furukawa is working hard to further Ramon's legacy. 278 00:16:51,689 --> 00:16:52,956 He readies his camera 279 00:16:52,990 --> 00:16:55,425 as the flight path takes him towards Europe 280 00:16:55,460 --> 00:16:59,563 and into the nighttime darkness: Earth's shadow. 281 00:17:03,367 --> 00:17:04,601 He won't have much time. 282 00:17:04,635 --> 00:17:06,369 At ISS speeds, 283 00:17:06,404 --> 00:17:11,675 traveling over Paris to Rome takes just two minutes. 284 00:17:11,709 --> 00:17:14,811 Looking down, he sees the lights 285 00:17:14,846 --> 00:17:19,049 rimming the boot-shaped peninsula of Italy. 286 00:17:19,083 --> 00:17:25,522 In ten minutes, he'll be over Central Africa. 287 00:17:25,556 --> 00:17:27,457 Weather patterns and topography 288 00:17:27,492 --> 00:17:31,328 make this the world's most lightning-prone region. 289 00:17:31,362 --> 00:17:33,296 Because it's estimated that 290 00:17:33,331 --> 00:17:37,067 only one in 10,000 lightning bolts produces a sprite, 291 00:17:37,101 --> 00:17:40,170 Africa's very active skies make it one of the best places 292 00:17:40,204 --> 00:17:43,507 to spot one of these elusive events. 293 00:17:43,541 --> 00:17:47,644 So the first step in capturing a sprite is to track 294 00:17:47,678 --> 00:17:51,748 the kind of extraordinary, monster thunderstorms 295 00:17:51,783 --> 00:17:55,051 that produce super-bolts of lightning. 296 00:17:55,086 --> 00:17:58,789 And figuring out where they might be is Yoav Yair's job. 297 00:17:58,823 --> 00:18:02,592 He analyzes weather patterns on the ground 298 00:18:02,627 --> 00:18:05,896 and sends the locations 299 00:18:05,930 --> 00:18:07,998 of potential sprite-producing thunderclouds 300 00:18:08,032 --> 00:18:09,833 to Furukawa on the Space Station. 301 00:18:09,867 --> 00:18:14,838 This is a very exciting and emotional thing for me to do 302 00:18:14,872 --> 00:18:17,674 because it reminds me of the things we did 303 00:18:17,708 --> 00:18:23,446 for Ilan Ramon and the crew of the Columbia in 2003. 304 00:18:23,481 --> 00:18:29,653 NARRATOR: With Yair guiding him, Furukawa circles the globe 305 00:18:29,687 --> 00:18:31,822 looking for the kind of monster thunderclouds 306 00:18:31,856 --> 00:18:34,157 that could produce a sprite! 307 00:18:34,192 --> 00:18:39,429 Then, while flying over the Middle East... 308 00:18:39,463 --> 00:18:40,864 FURUKAWA: Incredible! 309 00:18:40,898 --> 00:18:45,168 NARRATOR: ...he sees something. 310 00:18:45,203 --> 00:18:49,406 It's clearly a sprite flashing over the thundercloud 311 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,008 and surging towards space. 312 00:18:52,043 --> 00:18:55,212 And it looks like a color version of the one captured 313 00:18:55,246 --> 00:18:59,749 by Ilan Ramon from the Columbia space shuttle. 314 00:18:59,784 --> 00:19:03,320 It's the first clear high-definition color photograph 315 00:19:03,354 --> 00:19:06,823 of a sprite taken from above. 316 00:19:06,858 --> 00:19:09,960 And there are more. 317 00:19:09,994 --> 00:19:14,865 Ahead is Taiwan, Japan and mainland China. 318 00:19:14,899 --> 00:19:19,269 A giant sprite appears over Beijing, near the horizon. 319 00:19:22,106 --> 00:19:24,274 The white flash below 320 00:19:24,308 --> 00:19:26,810 is an unusually powerful bolt of lightning. 321 00:19:31,949 --> 00:19:34,384 The sprite above is far off. 322 00:19:34,418 --> 00:19:36,620 It may not look especially large, 323 00:19:36,654 --> 00:19:40,357 but some sprites can be almost 40 miles in height: 324 00:19:40,391 --> 00:19:44,728 dozens of times taller than ground-striking lightning bolts. 325 00:19:47,465 --> 00:19:51,301 Altogether, Furukawa captured six sprites. 326 00:19:51,335 --> 00:19:53,203 FURUKAWA: It was a real surprise to me. 327 00:19:53,237 --> 00:19:58,141 It's so exciting when something previously invisible to us 328 00:19:58,175 --> 00:20:01,978 finally starts to become visible. 329 00:20:03,948 --> 00:20:07,183 NARRATOR: The footage was sent to Yoav Yair 330 00:20:07,218 --> 00:20:10,153 and an international team of sprite researchers 331 00:20:10,187 --> 00:20:13,556 who are continuing the work of Ilan Ramon 332 00:20:13,591 --> 00:20:14,925 and the lost Columbia crew. 333 00:20:14,959 --> 00:20:17,127 Oh, very nice! 334 00:20:17,161 --> 00:20:21,398 Now it's much more detailed, better camera, color-- 335 00:20:21,432 --> 00:20:23,366 we only had black and white-- 336 00:20:23,401 --> 00:20:25,001 but it was really exciting for me. 337 00:20:25,036 --> 00:20:27,504 Actually, it really moved my heart to see it. 338 00:20:27,538 --> 00:20:30,273 I have to imagine this 339 00:20:30,308 --> 00:20:34,077 because they are not with us-- they're all gone-- 340 00:20:34,111 --> 00:20:36,646 but I am sure that if he knew 341 00:20:36,681 --> 00:20:41,184 that their mission was accomplished eight years later 342 00:20:41,218 --> 00:20:46,623 or maybe even going on later, they would feel fulfilled. 343 00:20:46,657 --> 00:20:50,560 He would be proud, I think. 344 00:20:50,594 --> 00:20:55,065 NARRATOR: Images like these are helping scientists to understand 345 00:20:55,099 --> 00:20:57,734 how a huge storm can generate sprites. 346 00:20:57,768 --> 00:20:59,736 During a thunderstorm, 347 00:20:59,770 --> 00:21:03,173 electric charge builds up in a thundercloud, 348 00:21:03,207 --> 00:21:06,276 causing lightning to emerge from the lower part of the cloud 349 00:21:06,310 --> 00:21:07,510 and strike the Earth, 350 00:21:07,545 --> 00:21:11,114 discharging an immense electric current. 351 00:21:11,148 --> 00:21:14,584 But if that lightning bolt is powerful enough, 352 00:21:14,618 --> 00:21:18,221 it can trigger a sympathetic spark above the cloud. 353 00:21:18,255 --> 00:21:23,693 EARLE WILLIAMS: As you go up in altitude, the density of air decreases. 354 00:21:23,728 --> 00:21:27,130 And so low-density air is easier to make a spark in 355 00:21:27,164 --> 00:21:28,698 than high-density air. 356 00:21:28,733 --> 00:21:30,734 So a Sprite is really caused by lightning 357 00:21:30,768 --> 00:21:33,436 down in the lower atmosphere 358 00:21:33,471 --> 00:21:38,108 that exerts a stress on the upper, thinner atmosphere 359 00:21:38,142 --> 00:21:41,378 and causes a spark up there. 360 00:21:41,412 --> 00:21:45,782 NARRATOR: And that spark gives rise to a sprite. 361 00:21:45,816 --> 00:21:49,252 As the scientists examine the images, 362 00:21:49,286 --> 00:21:52,422 there's one that attracts a lot of attention. 363 00:21:52,456 --> 00:21:55,125 Captured in one of Furukawa's pictures, 364 00:21:55,159 --> 00:21:57,060 the top of one of the sprites 365 00:21:57,094 --> 00:22:01,331 seems to reach all the way to the airglow layer. 366 00:22:01,365 --> 00:22:04,401 The airglow is part of the ionosphere, 367 00:22:04,435 --> 00:22:07,037 which is a vast sea of electrically charged particles, 368 00:22:07,071 --> 00:22:08,304 or ions. 369 00:22:08,339 --> 00:22:09,839 It's these particles, 370 00:22:09,874 --> 00:22:16,146 with help from the Sun, that create the glow. 371 00:22:16,180 --> 00:22:18,448 Airglow is due to solar radiation at short wavelengths-- 372 00:22:18,482 --> 00:22:20,850 ultraviolet wavelengths, UV, the same stuff that sunburns us 373 00:22:20,885 --> 00:22:22,952 if we're outside without our sunblock-- 374 00:22:22,987 --> 00:22:26,990 or X-rays, you know, that we use to image our bones. 375 00:22:27,024 --> 00:22:29,225 And that can transfer energy 376 00:22:29,260 --> 00:22:31,327 to the molecules in the atmosphere, 377 00:22:31,362 --> 00:22:34,431 and that energy transfer causes a glow. 378 00:22:34,465 --> 00:22:37,200 NARRATOR: But the most important thing about the airglow 379 00:22:37,234 --> 00:22:42,272 may not be why it glows, but where it's located. 380 00:22:42,306 --> 00:22:44,674 It's the lowest part of the ionosphere, 381 00:22:44,708 --> 00:22:47,577 the uppermost region of the atmosphere. 382 00:22:47,611 --> 00:22:50,480 It begins about 60 miles above Earth 383 00:22:50,514 --> 00:22:55,952 and extends over 600 miles to the very edge of space. 384 00:22:55,986 --> 00:22:59,122 The airglow is just the most visible component 385 00:22:59,156 --> 00:23:00,824 of the ionosphere, 386 00:23:00,858 --> 00:23:03,993 which is created by radiation from the Sun 387 00:23:04,028 --> 00:23:08,565 interacting with the topmost layer of Earth's atmosphere. 388 00:23:08,599 --> 00:23:11,901 So the image of a sprite reaching the airglow 389 00:23:11,936 --> 00:23:17,574 shows the incredible heights these massive sparks can reach. 390 00:23:17,608 --> 00:23:21,377 But these stunning images from the Space Station 391 00:23:21,412 --> 00:23:24,714 still leave many questions unanswered. 392 00:23:24,748 --> 00:23:27,951 How exactly do sprites form? 393 00:23:27,985 --> 00:23:30,954 And what accounts for their peculiar shape? 394 00:23:32,823 --> 00:23:35,258 To answer these questions, 395 00:23:35,292 --> 00:23:37,360 the group decides to try something 396 00:23:37,394 --> 00:23:41,531 that's never been done: to fly closer to sprites 397 00:23:41,565 --> 00:23:43,933 and to photograph them simultaneously 398 00:23:43,968 --> 00:23:47,237 with two different cameras on two different airplanes, 399 00:23:47,271 --> 00:23:49,939 hoping to combine these images digitally 400 00:23:49,974 --> 00:23:52,442 and reveal the anatomy of a sprite. 401 00:23:54,912 --> 00:23:57,280 The planes will also be equipped 402 00:23:57,314 --> 00:24:00,250 with the same super-sensitive color HD camera 403 00:24:00,284 --> 00:24:03,052 Furukawa has been using on the International Space Station. 404 00:24:05,956 --> 00:24:07,657 But their real secret weapon 405 00:24:07,691 --> 00:24:09,859 is a high-speed black and white camera 406 00:24:09,894 --> 00:24:11,961 that shoots 10,000 frames per second 407 00:24:11,996 --> 00:24:14,564 under low-light conditions. 408 00:24:14,598 --> 00:24:17,800 It will be able to show the formation of sprites 409 00:24:17,835 --> 00:24:20,503 in slow motion. 410 00:24:20,538 --> 00:24:23,573 It will be the first time that we have had two aircraft 411 00:24:23,607 --> 00:24:26,376 simultaneously trying to image a sprite 412 00:24:26,410 --> 00:24:28,411 with high-speed cameras. 413 00:24:28,445 --> 00:24:31,447 Sp it's very exciting for us. 414 00:24:33,784 --> 00:24:35,618 NARRATOR: They chose the area 415 00:24:35,653 --> 00:24:37,921 where the Great Plains meet the Rocky Mountains 416 00:24:37,955 --> 00:24:40,456 as a likely place to hunt for sprites 417 00:24:40,491 --> 00:24:43,726 because it is famous for very big nighttime thunderstorms. 418 00:24:46,564 --> 00:24:49,966 You can see huge thunderclouds there in the summertime. 419 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:53,603 The weather is sunny almost 70% of the year. 420 00:24:53,637 --> 00:24:56,206 The intense sunlight heats the ground 421 00:24:56,240 --> 00:25:00,944 and causes a strong upward air current. 422 00:25:00,978 --> 00:25:04,581 This, in turn, creates active thunderclouds one after another, 423 00:25:04,615 --> 00:25:06,783 producing lightning. 424 00:25:06,817 --> 00:25:12,589 But only the biggest lightning flashes of all produce sprites. 425 00:25:12,623 --> 00:25:17,594 And once again, it will be Yoav Yair's job 426 00:25:17,628 --> 00:25:19,362 to help the team in the air 427 00:25:19,396 --> 00:25:22,565 find those huge sprite-producing thunderclouds. 428 00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:27,737 He and his team will be at the Yucca Ridge Field Station, 429 00:25:27,771 --> 00:25:29,472 a weather observation facility 430 00:25:29,506 --> 00:25:31,307 on the Great Plains north of Denver. 431 00:25:31,342 --> 00:25:32,842 Oh, you got it. 432 00:25:32,876 --> 00:25:34,677 No, no... 433 00:25:34,712 --> 00:25:36,179 You got it okay. 434 00:25:36,213 --> 00:25:38,514 NARRATOR: They will forecast where a sprite might appear 435 00:25:38,549 --> 00:25:40,917 and direct the planes. 436 00:25:40,951 --> 00:25:45,021 At 5:00 p.m., the flight team gathers 437 00:25:45,055 --> 00:25:47,156 to discuss strategy for tonight's mission. 438 00:25:50,194 --> 00:25:52,495 They call the control station. 439 00:25:52,529 --> 00:25:56,599 Scientist Geoff McHarg, who will be on one of the planes, 440 00:25:56,634 --> 00:25:58,735 is asking for the lightning forecast. 441 00:25:58,769 --> 00:26:02,238 We were just looking at the charge moment change map 442 00:26:02,273 --> 00:26:03,539 and then the weather map... 443 00:26:03,574 --> 00:26:05,108 WALT LYONS: It's not weakening. 444 00:26:05,142 --> 00:26:06,309 The good news is 445 00:26:06,343 --> 00:26:09,746 it's moving into some extremely unstable air. 446 00:26:09,780 --> 00:26:11,948 NARRATOR: Walt Lyons of the Yucca Ridge Field Station 447 00:26:11,982 --> 00:26:15,351 is working with Yair to analyze the weather data. 448 00:26:15,386 --> 00:26:19,722 In this satellite image, clouds are shown in blue. 449 00:26:19,757 --> 00:26:22,392 That day, thunderclouds were developing 450 00:26:22,426 --> 00:26:24,327 in a variety of places. 451 00:26:24,361 --> 00:26:27,063 But would they produce powerful enough lightning 452 00:26:27,097 --> 00:26:30,867 to produce sprites? 453 00:26:30,901 --> 00:26:36,773 Back at the airport, the pilots talk among themselves. 454 00:26:36,807 --> 00:26:38,808 Usually they avoid big storms, 455 00:26:38,842 --> 00:26:41,344 but tonight they will have to fly in 456 00:26:41,378 --> 00:26:42,945 and around the thunderclouds, 457 00:26:42,980 --> 00:26:46,516 hunting for the perfect position to capture sprites. 458 00:26:46,550 --> 00:26:51,187 They know it will be a rough and difficult flight. 459 00:26:51,221 --> 00:26:56,159 (thunder rumbling) 460 00:26:56,193 --> 00:26:58,127 As soon as it gets dark, 461 00:26:58,162 --> 00:27:02,899 thunder begins to reverberate around the airport. 462 00:27:05,069 --> 00:27:06,903 The researchers board the planes 463 00:27:06,937 --> 00:27:09,072 on what looks like a promising night. 464 00:27:09,106 --> 00:27:12,775 At 9:00 p.m., the two jets take off. 465 00:27:17,114 --> 00:27:19,982 They're heading for thunderclouds 120 miles away 466 00:27:20,017 --> 00:27:22,185 that are vigorously producing lightning. 467 00:27:22,219 --> 00:27:25,988 The cabin is in constant communication 468 00:27:26,023 --> 00:27:30,727 with Yair and Lyons at Yucca Ridge. 469 00:27:30,761 --> 00:27:32,962 Essentially, they want some kind of central location. 470 00:27:32,996 --> 00:27:35,798 NARRATOR: He evaluates the data and gives the pilots 471 00:27:35,833 --> 00:27:38,735 the latitude and longitude of large thunderclouds 472 00:27:38,769 --> 00:27:40,370 where sprites might appear. 473 00:27:40,404 --> 00:27:43,906 We'll be on this data collection run 474 00:27:43,941 --> 00:27:46,642 for about ten minutes. 475 00:27:46,677 --> 00:27:48,845 NARRATOR: Outside the window, 476 00:27:48,879 --> 00:27:52,715 they see a huge thundercloud begin to glow with lightning. 477 00:27:52,750 --> 00:27:54,283 MAN: It's here! 478 00:27:54,318 --> 00:27:55,918 Lightning! 479 00:27:55,953 --> 00:27:57,553 Quite promising. 480 00:27:57,588 --> 00:28:00,723 NARRATOR: Somewhere in the darkness above the cloud, 481 00:28:00,758 --> 00:28:04,394 they are hoping a sprite will occur. 482 00:28:04,428 --> 00:28:07,363 The high-speed camera is adjusted slightly upwards 483 00:28:07,398 --> 00:28:10,733 to shoot the area above the flashing thunderclouds. 484 00:28:12,803 --> 00:28:16,639 Geoff McHarg, who has spent 20 years chasing sprites, 485 00:28:16,673 --> 00:28:19,842 can barely contain his excitement. 486 00:28:19,877 --> 00:28:22,779 But Yair and Walt Lyons on the ground 487 00:28:22,813 --> 00:28:25,681 can see an unexpected change in the thundercloud. 488 00:28:25,716 --> 00:28:27,216 YAIR: They are here, 489 00:28:27,251 --> 00:28:30,319 and if they go like this, they would get this part, but... 490 00:28:30,354 --> 00:28:34,724 LYONS: You know, both of them are starting to weaken. 491 00:28:34,758 --> 00:28:37,860 NARRATOR: The large thundercloud that was expected to grow 492 00:28:37,895 --> 00:28:41,297 has started to split in two. 493 00:28:41,331 --> 00:28:44,367 They've been in the air for five hours 494 00:28:44,401 --> 00:28:47,236 with no sign of those elusive sprites, 495 00:28:47,271 --> 00:28:51,607 and now the lightning is quickly losing momentum. 496 00:28:51,642 --> 00:28:57,079 Despite the promising forecast and their careful preparation, 497 00:28:57,114 --> 00:29:01,751 they have no choice but to return to the airport defeated. 498 00:29:03,654 --> 00:29:05,121 It was horrible. 499 00:29:05,155 --> 00:29:06,489 MAN: Until we got high. 500 00:29:06,523 --> 00:29:07,457 Yeah. 501 00:29:07,491 --> 00:29:10,293 I've seen much larger storms, you know, 502 00:29:10,327 --> 00:29:12,328 where you get really large sprites 503 00:29:12,362 --> 00:29:15,431 that happen pretty often, and this was just too small. 504 00:29:15,466 --> 00:29:16,599 We'll see. 505 00:29:16,633 --> 00:29:18,501 Fingers crossed for the next one. 506 00:29:18,535 --> 00:29:22,338 NARRATOR: They realize this will not be easy. 507 00:29:28,545 --> 00:29:31,047 On the Fourth of July, 508 00:29:31,081 --> 00:29:33,082 while people all over America are celebrating, 509 00:29:33,116 --> 00:29:35,751 the sprite team hurries to the airport. 510 00:29:35,786 --> 00:29:36,886 They've been waiting 511 00:29:36,920 --> 00:29:40,790 for the right kind of weather for a week. 512 00:29:40,824 --> 00:29:43,359 Finally, new storm clouds 513 00:29:43,393 --> 00:29:47,063 powerful enough to generate sprites have appeared. 514 00:29:47,097 --> 00:29:48,498 McHARG: So if we go here... 515 00:29:48,532 --> 00:29:50,633 If we don't see lots of sprites 516 00:29:50,667 --> 00:29:53,169 and this starts to get more intense, 517 00:29:53,203 --> 00:29:54,604 then I may want to extend up. 518 00:29:54,638 --> 00:29:59,575 Go as soon as they get ready, I would say. 519 00:30:05,015 --> 00:30:08,618 NARRATOR: Both planes take off into a stormy sky. 520 00:30:17,461 --> 00:30:19,629 While Denver watches fireworks below, 521 00:30:19,663 --> 00:30:23,699 they prep the cameras and get ready. 522 00:30:23,734 --> 00:30:25,401 30 seconds. 523 00:30:25,435 --> 00:30:29,872 NARRATOR: They start to see flashes of lightning below. 524 00:30:29,907 --> 00:30:34,143 On the ground, Yair and Lyons are trying to figure out 525 00:30:34,177 --> 00:30:36,379 the best way to position the planes. 526 00:30:36,413 --> 00:30:38,447 But then they would have to turn down, 527 00:30:38,482 --> 00:30:40,149 or do you want them to circumvent it? 528 00:30:40,183 --> 00:30:42,985 Well, can they punch through and come around the other... 529 00:30:43,020 --> 00:30:44,554 Go all the way and... 530 00:30:44,588 --> 00:30:46,022 Up to about 47 degrees 531 00:30:46,056 --> 00:30:47,823 and see if they can punch through. 532 00:30:47,858 --> 00:30:51,727 NARRATOR: The two thunderclouds shown in deep blue have collided, 533 00:30:51,762 --> 00:30:53,996 and major cloud development has begun. 534 00:30:54,031 --> 00:30:58,067 They send the coordinates of the strongest lightning 535 00:30:58,101 --> 00:30:59,569 to the team in the air. 536 00:31:07,578 --> 00:31:12,214 NARRATOR: Outside, lightning flashes are everywhere. 537 00:31:12,249 --> 00:31:17,086 A monster cloud, with a diameter of more than 300 miles, 538 00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:20,656 is releasing electricity with frightening intensity. 539 00:31:20,691 --> 00:31:24,293 The scientists rush to position their gear. 540 00:31:24,328 --> 00:31:28,197 The frustration and anticipation of the previous week 541 00:31:28,231 --> 00:31:30,032 is getting to them, 542 00:31:30,067 --> 00:31:31,734 and tension in the cabin is high. 543 00:31:35,505 --> 00:31:36,572 Sprite! 544 00:31:36,607 --> 00:31:37,907 Wow! 545 00:31:37,941 --> 00:31:39,575 That's a heck of a sprite there! 546 00:31:39,610 --> 00:31:41,010 Did you get it? 547 00:31:41,044 --> 00:31:45,014 NARRATOR: For an instant, a giant red flash appeared. 548 00:31:45,048 --> 00:31:48,818 On replay, they can see beautiful shafts of light 549 00:31:48,852 --> 00:31:51,787 thrusting upwards toward space: 550 00:31:51,822 --> 00:31:55,658 the mysterious sprite in all its glory. 551 00:31:58,128 --> 00:32:01,230 Then the sprites keep coming. 552 00:32:03,634 --> 00:32:05,568 Sprite! 553 00:32:05,602 --> 00:32:07,003 We got sprites! 554 00:32:09,539 --> 00:32:14,076 NARRATOR: On board, the team reviews the stunning and unique images. 555 00:32:14,111 --> 00:32:18,280 This sprite was shaped like a mangrove tree. 556 00:32:18,315 --> 00:32:20,583 It's been captured in more detail 557 00:32:20,617 --> 00:32:23,019 than any sprite until now. 558 00:32:25,055 --> 00:32:27,223 Just like its name, 559 00:32:27,257 --> 00:32:30,960 this sprite evokes a fairy with wings. 560 00:32:33,664 --> 00:32:34,797 MAN: Jellyfish! 561 00:32:34,831 --> 00:32:36,632 Yeah, a very big jellyfish! 562 00:32:36,667 --> 00:32:37,667 It's pretty, very pretty! 563 00:32:41,805 --> 00:32:47,109 NARRATOR: It indeed looks like a jellyfish with many tentacles. 564 00:32:47,144 --> 00:32:53,616 Sprites of many different forms appear one after another. 565 00:32:59,923 --> 00:33:05,261 Seen up close, they have a variety of shapes. 566 00:33:05,295 --> 00:33:10,466 Eventually, a sprite appears that demands special attention. 567 00:33:10,500 --> 00:33:13,636 (translated): This is spectacular! 568 00:33:17,107 --> 00:33:19,608 NARRATOR: The umbrella-like top of this sprite 569 00:33:19,643 --> 00:33:23,512 reaches an altitude of around 60 miles. 570 00:33:23,547 --> 00:33:25,948 That's the altitude of the airglow layer 571 00:33:25,982 --> 00:33:27,817 that appeared in Furukawa'fo 572 00:33:27,851 --> 00:33:30,853 from the International Space Station. 573 00:33:30,887 --> 00:33:35,858 The image confirms that sprites interact with the ionosphere. 574 00:33:42,332 --> 00:33:46,001 Now it's time for the high-speed camera. 575 00:33:46,036 --> 00:33:48,804 It's designed so that when a sprite is sighted 576 00:33:48,839 --> 00:33:50,773 and the button is released, 577 00:33:50,807 --> 00:33:53,342 the previous three seconds of footage will be saved. 578 00:33:59,116 --> 00:34:01,717 Sprite! 579 00:34:01,752 --> 00:34:03,619 (crew talking excitedly) 580 00:34:15,532 --> 00:34:18,534 NARRATOR: This is the momentary flash of a sprite 581 00:34:18,568 --> 00:34:21,303 taken by the super-sensitive camera, 582 00:34:21,338 --> 00:34:26,375 and when shot by the high-speed camera, it looks like this. 583 00:34:34,684 --> 00:34:37,186 In just a few hundredths of a second, 584 00:34:37,220 --> 00:34:41,891 countless particles of light rain down. 585 00:34:44,327 --> 00:34:46,996 This is the first time a sprite's formation 586 00:34:47,030 --> 00:34:49,532 has ever been revealed in such detail. 587 00:34:53,637 --> 00:34:55,604 (crew talking excitedly) 588 00:34:55,639 --> 00:34:57,173 NARRATOR: During the night, 589 00:34:57,207 --> 00:35:00,509 14 sprites were captured by the high-speed camera. 590 00:35:00,544 --> 00:35:02,511 8,000, yes, very good. 591 00:35:02,546 --> 00:35:04,446 (crew talking excitedly) 592 00:35:05,849 --> 00:35:11,177 NARRATOR What else will the footage reveal. 593 00:35:12,768 --> 00:35:15,868 With great expectations they return to the ground. 594 00:35:16,318 --> 00:35:18,918 Not too bad, huh? >>>Great! 595 00:35:22,014 --> 00:35:23,259 Thats amazing. 596 00:35:25,914 --> 00:35:27,011 It was fabulous. 597 00:35:27,211 --> 00:35:28,912 It was amazing. 598 00:35:28,946 --> 00:35:31,381 I haven't seen anything like that ever. 599 00:35:35,886 --> 00:35:37,887 NARRATOR: The long night is over, 600 00:35:37,922 --> 00:35:40,957 but they know their work is just beginning. 601 00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:47,497 Back in Denver, the team gathers to make some scientific sense 602 00:35:47,531 --> 00:35:49,833 out of their spectacular sprite footage. 603 00:35:49,867 --> 00:35:52,402 The halo above and the elf below, 604 00:35:52,436 --> 00:35:55,872 and that's just because it's expanded out in front... 605 00:35:55,906 --> 00:35:59,542 NARRATOR: At first glance, this sprite may seem to burst up 606 00:35:59,577 --> 00:36:03,513 from the storm clouds towards space. 607 00:36:03,547 --> 00:36:05,849 But when seen by the high-speed camera, 608 00:36:05,883 --> 00:36:09,052 the movement looks completely different. 609 00:36:09,086 --> 00:36:12,322 Bursts of light appear out of the center, 610 00:36:12,356 --> 00:36:16,493 spreading both up and down. 611 00:36:16,527 --> 00:36:19,963 In fact, when examined in slow motion, 612 00:36:19,997 --> 00:36:23,333 it appears that sprite formation is more complicated 613 00:36:23,367 --> 00:36:25,568 than early reports had indicated. 614 00:36:25,603 --> 00:36:32,108 And what about this sprite shaped like angel's wings? 615 00:36:32,143 --> 00:36:34,277 With this one, too, 616 00:36:34,311 --> 00:36:37,580 bursts of light suddenly appear out of darkness. 617 00:36:37,615 --> 00:36:41,251 They go down, and the next moment, up, 618 00:36:41,285 --> 00:36:44,154 and then down again. 619 00:36:44,188 --> 00:36:48,791 They change their direction as they unfold. 620 00:36:48,826 --> 00:36:51,895 So what is really happening? 621 00:36:51,929 --> 00:36:55,031 Within the sprite, electrons are colliding 622 00:36:55,065 --> 00:36:57,567 with charged particles in the atmosphere, 623 00:36:57,601 --> 00:37:01,237 creating a pathway for the electrons to travel. 624 00:37:01,272 --> 00:37:04,741 Where they go depends on the concentration of electrons 625 00:37:04,775 --> 00:37:06,943 and the composition of the atmosphere. 626 00:37:11,916 --> 00:37:14,184 Sprites are beautiful and intriguing, 627 00:37:14,218 --> 00:37:16,853 but do they actually have a role to play 628 00:37:16,887 --> 00:37:21,457 in Earth's upper atmosphere? 629 00:37:21,492 --> 00:37:25,128 Yukihiro Takahashi is investigating 630 00:37:25,162 --> 00:37:27,397 the aftermath of a sprite. 631 00:37:27,431 --> 00:37:30,633 Once the electrons cut open a path, 632 00:37:30,668 --> 00:37:35,205 the atmosphere around it becomes highly electrified. 633 00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:39,375 Following the sprite's path, a large electric current 634 00:37:39,410 --> 00:37:43,079 continues to flow from the thundercloud to the ionosphere, 635 00:37:43,113 --> 00:37:47,317 which shows up as the airglow in many sprite images. 636 00:37:47,351 --> 00:37:50,486 (translated): The sprite flashes only for an instant, 637 00:37:50,521 --> 00:37:53,890 but at the moment when it flashes, 638 00:37:53,924 --> 00:37:55,925 a conductive path is created. 639 00:37:55,960 --> 00:37:58,394 The electrified path doesn't disappear 640 00:37:58,429 --> 00:38:02,632 when the flash ends, but stays there for a while. 641 00:38:02,666 --> 00:38:07,103 The effects are thought to last several seconds to minutes. 642 00:38:07,137 --> 00:38:10,673 NARRATOR: The result is a massive transfer of electric charge 643 00:38:10,708 --> 00:38:14,110 in the space between the cloud and the ionosphere. 644 00:38:17,548 --> 00:38:20,750 The team also successfully captured a sprite 645 00:38:20,784 --> 00:38:24,420 from different angles, as they had originally planned, 646 00:38:24,455 --> 00:38:28,958 using high-speed cameras placed on the two aircraft. 647 00:38:31,262 --> 00:38:34,097 By combining the images from the two cameras, 648 00:38:34,131 --> 00:38:38,268 the three-dimensional structure of the sprite becomes apparent. 649 00:38:41,505 --> 00:38:45,908 A large number of electrons collide with the atmosphere, 650 00:38:45,943 --> 00:38:47,777 creating brilliant bursts of light 651 00:38:47,811 --> 00:38:52,148 and opening channels where the electrons can flow. 652 00:38:52,182 --> 00:38:56,686 Each sprite channel can be hundreds of yards wide. 653 00:39:00,791 --> 00:39:03,926 A sprite event is like a switch 654 00:39:03,961 --> 00:39:06,929 that turns on an electric current in the space 655 00:39:06,964 --> 00:39:10,800 between the Earth and the ionosphere. 656 00:39:10,834 --> 00:39:14,671 In fact, our planet is surrounded by electric current, 657 00:39:14,705 --> 00:39:18,608 from the surface to the edge of space. 658 00:39:18,642 --> 00:39:22,312 Like lightning, sprites help to complete a global circuit, 659 00:39:22,346 --> 00:39:26,849 allowing charge to flow continuously around the Earth. 660 00:39:29,053 --> 00:39:31,487 But sprites reach much farther than lightning, 661 00:39:31,522 --> 00:39:33,556 and unlike lightning, 662 00:39:33,590 --> 00:39:37,093 sprites can transfer charge into the ionosphere 663 00:39:37,127 --> 00:39:39,495 to the edge of space. 664 00:39:39,530 --> 00:39:42,365 Not only that, but the bolts of lightning 665 00:39:42,399 --> 00:39:45,468 that create the sprites are so powerful 666 00:39:45,502 --> 00:39:49,906 that they literally reverberate around the world. 667 00:39:49,940 --> 00:39:52,208 EARLE WILLIAMS: When a sprite occurs, 668 00:39:52,242 --> 00:39:54,410 the parent lightning that causes the strike 669 00:39:54,445 --> 00:39:57,580 radiates electromagnetic waves. 670 00:39:57,614 --> 00:40:02,518 Those waves propagate in what we call the global circuit. 671 00:40:02,553 --> 00:40:05,855 NARRATOR: Earle Williams of MIT studies sprites 672 00:40:05,889 --> 00:40:09,225 from this remote laboratory in western Rhode Island. 673 00:40:09,259 --> 00:40:13,129 Williams and his equipment are nearly off the grid out here, 674 00:40:13,163 --> 00:40:16,399 but they're completely plugged into the biggest circuit of all: 675 00:40:16,433 --> 00:40:19,235 the Global Electric Circuit. 676 00:40:19,269 --> 00:40:21,204 WILLIAMS: We've been monitoring this phenomenon 677 00:40:21,238 --> 00:40:23,272 for nearly two decades at this site, 678 00:40:23,307 --> 00:40:25,775 trying to look for long-term trends. 679 00:40:25,809 --> 00:40:29,445 NARRATOR: In fact, scientists have actually been measuring 680 00:40:29,480 --> 00:40:31,514 the Global Electric Circuit 681 00:40:31,548 --> 00:40:33,149 on this unusual site since the 1950s, 682 00:40:33,183 --> 00:40:37,520 when the lab was set up by Williams' predecessor, 683 00:40:37,554 --> 00:40:41,891 Charles Polk of the University of Rhode Island. 684 00:40:41,925 --> 00:40:45,061 WILLIAMS: The antenna immediately behind me is Charles Polk's. 685 00:40:45,095 --> 00:40:48,698 The more distant antenna is one that we constructed 686 00:40:48,732 --> 00:40:51,534 when Polk's antenna was struck by lightning 687 00:40:51,568 --> 00:40:53,736 and it blew the antenna into many separate fragments 688 00:40:53,771 --> 00:40:55,938 all over the meadow we're sitting in right now. 689 00:40:55,973 --> 00:40:59,776 NARRATOR: Williams got involved with early sprite research 690 00:40:59,810 --> 00:41:01,844 by collaborating with Walt Lyons 691 00:41:01,879 --> 00:41:04,580 of the Yucca Ridge Field Station. 692 00:41:04,615 --> 00:41:06,048 Every time Walt saw a sprite in Colorado, 693 00:41:06,083 --> 00:41:08,284 which is roughly 2,000 miles from here, 694 00:41:08,318 --> 00:41:12,622 we would see a big disturbance here in Rhode Island. 695 00:41:12,656 --> 00:41:14,323 NARRATOR: The antenna Williams is using 696 00:41:14,358 --> 00:41:16,859 measures a very low frequency wave, 697 00:41:16,894 --> 00:41:19,362 like a steady hum that resonates 698 00:41:19,396 --> 00:41:22,265 between the Earth and the ionosphere. 699 00:41:22,299 --> 00:41:23,933 WILLIAMS: When a sprite occurs, 700 00:41:23,967 --> 00:41:25,802 the lightning that causes the sprite 701 00:41:25,836 --> 00:41:30,139 sends waves in that thin cavity around the world 702 00:41:30,174 --> 00:41:31,974 two or three times, 703 00:41:32,009 --> 00:41:36,345 and it is exciting something called the Schumann resonances. 704 00:41:36,380 --> 00:41:39,315 And the Schumann resonances is a manifestation 705 00:41:39,349 --> 00:41:43,386 of what we call the AC Global Circuit. 706 00:41:43,420 --> 00:41:46,589 NARRATOR: Earle's aunt was a prominent violin player, 707 00:41:46,623 --> 00:41:48,090 so it's not too surprising 708 00:41:48,125 --> 00:41:50,927 that he thinks of it in musical terms. 709 00:41:50,961 --> 00:41:52,762 WILLIAMS: The vibration of a violin string 710 00:41:52,796 --> 00:41:55,731 is very much like what happens with Schumann resonances. 711 00:41:55,766 --> 00:41:58,634 We have a fixed string length, 712 00:41:58,669 --> 00:42:00,770 and there's one wave on the string, 713 00:42:00,804 --> 00:42:05,107 which has a fixed frequency, say the A note of 440 hertz. 714 00:42:05,142 --> 00:42:07,477 For Schumann resonance, we have a fixed length, 715 00:42:07,511 --> 00:42:09,979 but the length wraps itself around the world. 716 00:42:10,013 --> 00:42:12,548 And for that fixed length and the speed of light, 717 00:42:12,583 --> 00:42:15,218 we have a fixed frequency of eight cycles per second. 718 00:42:15,252 --> 00:42:18,020 So they're both examples of resonances, 719 00:42:18,055 --> 00:42:20,156 this one being a mechanical resonance, 720 00:42:20,190 --> 00:42:22,558 that one being an electro-magnetic resonance, 721 00:42:22,593 --> 00:42:24,794 but the same wave phenomenon applies. 722 00:42:24,828 --> 00:42:29,432 NARRATOR: It's almost like the music of the spheres-- 723 00:42:29,466 --> 00:42:32,034 or of the Earth, at least. 724 00:42:32,069 --> 00:42:33,936 WILLIAMS: No matter where you are on Earth, 725 00:42:33,971 --> 00:42:35,872 if you have an antenna, a vertical antenna 726 00:42:35,906 --> 00:42:37,173 like the one behind me, 727 00:42:37,207 --> 00:42:41,277 you will see an oscillation on that antenna 728 00:42:41,311 --> 00:42:42,712 at roughly eight cycles per second. 729 00:42:42,746 --> 00:42:45,581 And that is maintained continuously 730 00:42:45,616 --> 00:42:47,283 by all the lightning on the planet. 731 00:42:47,317 --> 00:42:49,285 Every time there's a lightning flash, 732 00:42:49,319 --> 00:42:52,388 a small fraction of the energy in that lightning flash 733 00:42:52,422 --> 00:42:54,490 feeds into this global resonance. 734 00:42:54,525 --> 00:42:58,794 NARRATOR: The Schumann resonance is present all the time. 735 00:42:58,829 --> 00:43:01,264 It never dissipates 736 00:43:01,298 --> 00:43:04,800 because there's always lightning someplace on Earth. 737 00:43:04,835 --> 00:43:08,738 And when a sprite is produced by a super-bolt of lightning, 738 00:43:08,772 --> 00:43:12,308 there is a spike in the Schumann resonance signal. 739 00:43:12,342 --> 00:43:14,911 WILLIAMS: Every sprite lightning is a bell ringer 740 00:43:14,945 --> 00:43:16,812 for the Schumann resonances. 741 00:43:16,847 --> 00:43:18,681 One of these giant lightnings 742 00:43:18,715 --> 00:43:21,717 will single-handedly excite the whole Schumann cavity 743 00:43:21,752 --> 00:43:24,620 with electromagnetic waves. 744 00:43:24,655 --> 00:43:28,991 And everyone on Earth who has a receiver 745 00:43:29,026 --> 00:43:31,327 in the range of frequency of eight cycles per second 746 00:43:31,361 --> 00:43:34,497 will detect a sprite event. 747 00:43:34,531 --> 00:43:35,932 Here on the oscilloscope, 748 00:43:35,966 --> 00:43:38,568 we have an example of the Schumann resonant signals. 749 00:43:38,602 --> 00:43:40,636 You can see the characteristic 750 00:43:40,671 --> 00:43:43,606 eight-cycle-per-second oscillation, continuously. 751 00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:45,808 That's called the background Schumann resonances. 752 00:43:45,842 --> 00:43:49,946 Occasionally, you'll see a big increase in the amplitudes. 753 00:43:49,980 --> 00:43:53,249 Those events are the events that make the sprites. 754 00:43:53,283 --> 00:43:54,984 These are the lightning flashes, 755 00:43:55,018 --> 00:43:56,819 the very energetic lightning flashes 756 00:43:56,853 --> 00:44:01,357 that create sprites in the thin upper atmosphere. 757 00:44:01,391 --> 00:44:03,726 NARRATOR: Earle's science may be cutting edge, 758 00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:07,863 adding to our understanding of planet Earth, 759 00:44:07,898 --> 00:44:10,132 but his equipment is a little bit old school. 760 00:44:10,167 --> 00:44:13,235 EARLE WILLIAMS: Because the Schumann resonances 761 00:44:13,270 --> 00:44:15,871 oscillate at only eight cycles per second, 762 00:44:15,906 --> 00:44:18,608 it is kind of a low-tech operation here. 763 00:44:18,642 --> 00:44:21,544 I mean, we do digital recording of the signals, but it's... 764 00:44:21,578 --> 00:44:23,946 You know, these are very low frequency signals 765 00:44:23,981 --> 00:44:26,382 you can put on an oscilloscope, and you don't need 766 00:44:26,416 --> 00:44:28,884 high-bandwidth equipment to record them. 767 00:44:28,919 --> 00:44:31,354 But you have to be in a quiet place. 768 00:44:31,388 --> 00:44:32,955 You can't do this in the middle of a city: 769 00:44:32,990 --> 00:44:34,690 there's too much background noise. 770 00:44:34,725 --> 00:44:36,926 And that's why we're out here in this very beautiful site 771 00:44:36,960 --> 00:44:39,362 in the middle of nowhere. 772 00:44:39,396 --> 00:44:43,199 NARRATOR: And super-powerful lightning produces not only sprites, 773 00:44:43,233 --> 00:44:46,035 but other weird phenomena as well. 774 00:44:46,069 --> 00:44:49,171 There are actually a whole zoo of creatures up there 775 00:44:49,206 --> 00:44:50,439 that are caused by lightning. 776 00:44:50,474 --> 00:44:52,575 There's something called an ELVE, 777 00:44:52,609 --> 00:44:55,878 and it's like a pancake of light within the airglow layer, 778 00:44:55,912 --> 00:44:58,648 and it's caused by the radiation field from lightning. 779 00:44:58,682 --> 00:45:03,185 Then there is a halo, which is also a pancake shape 780 00:45:03,220 --> 00:45:04,854 but at somewhat lower altitude. 781 00:45:04,888 --> 00:45:08,891 And then there are blue jets and pixies 782 00:45:08,925 --> 00:45:12,762 and a whole host of other optical phenomena 783 00:45:12,796 --> 00:45:15,931 that occur in conjunction with lightning flashes. 784 00:45:15,966 --> 00:45:19,201 NARRATOR: Since the Schumann resonance fluctuates slightly 785 00:45:19,236 --> 00:45:22,772 depending upon factors such as the temperature of the Earth, 786 00:45:22,806 --> 00:45:25,307 Williams thinks it's one important way 787 00:45:25,342 --> 00:45:28,277 of measuring the health of the whole planet. 788 00:45:28,311 --> 00:45:32,715 WILLIAMS: It's a natural setup for looking at the entire Earth. 789 00:45:32,749 --> 00:45:37,787 You have one quantity which represents the entire planet, 790 00:45:37,821 --> 00:45:40,756 and it's hard to dream up another such circumstance. 791 00:45:40,791 --> 00:45:43,926 It is like taking the EKG of the planet. 792 00:45:45,629 --> 00:45:50,433 NARRATOR: The global electric circuit surrounds everything on Earth 793 00:45:50,467 --> 00:45:53,469 and connects us to the edge of space. 794 00:45:53,503 --> 00:45:57,106 Sprites feed into the ionosphere from below. 795 00:45:57,140 --> 00:46:00,710 But from above, the Sun also affects the ionosphere, 796 00:46:00,744 --> 00:46:05,948 resulting in the vivid displays of the Aurora Borealis. 797 00:46:05,982 --> 00:46:08,851 Auroras are light displays 798 00:46:08,885 --> 00:46:11,654 caused by the collision of charged particles 799 00:46:11,688 --> 00:46:14,356 streaming from the Sun into our atmosphere. 800 00:46:18,361 --> 00:46:21,363 There are two types of auroras. 801 00:46:21,398 --> 00:46:24,333 The discrete aurora like the Northern and Southern Lights 802 00:46:24,367 --> 00:46:26,502 have well-defined boundaries 803 00:46:26,536 --> 00:46:29,004 that can be seen with the naked eye, 804 00:46:29,039 --> 00:46:33,809 and diffuse auroras that spread out over a wide area 805 00:46:33,844 --> 00:46:37,079 and are less colorful. 806 00:46:39,082 --> 00:46:42,051 93 million miles away, auroras are born 807 00:46:42,085 --> 00:46:45,321 from a landscape of blistering temperatures 808 00:46:45,355 --> 00:46:48,390 and violent eruptions. 809 00:46:48,425 --> 00:46:53,295 From the surface of the Sun, huge volumes of solar material 810 00:46:53,330 --> 00:46:58,768 in the form of charged particles are blasted into space. 811 00:46:58,802 --> 00:47:03,906 A fleet of satellites monitors this solar activity. 812 00:47:08,645 --> 00:47:14,683 Stereo A and Stereo B satellites are making 3D images of the Sun 813 00:47:14,718 --> 00:47:18,420 and also tracking solar activity. 814 00:47:22,659 --> 00:47:27,630 These eyes in the sky paint a detailed picture of the Sun 815 00:47:27,664 --> 00:47:30,599 and the powerful forces erupting from its surface. 816 00:47:30,634 --> 00:47:34,436 The constant stream of charged particles, 817 00:47:34,471 --> 00:47:36,105 the solar wind, is so violent, 818 00:47:36,139 --> 00:47:38,808 it would strip away the Earth's atmosphere 819 00:47:38,842 --> 00:47:41,076 if it hit our planet directly. 820 00:47:41,111 --> 00:47:44,747 CAHOY: The sun you can think of 821 00:47:44,781 --> 00:47:47,416 as a really big angry hair dryer in a lot of ways: 822 00:47:47,450 --> 00:47:50,219 it's constantly blowing hot, energetic wind 823 00:47:50,253 --> 00:47:52,087 out in all directions, 824 00:47:52,122 --> 00:47:53,889 not just directly towards the Earth, 825 00:47:53,924 --> 00:47:55,457 but in all directions. 826 00:47:55,492 --> 00:47:59,195 And this hot, energetic, fast-moving particle stream 827 00:47:59,229 --> 00:48:01,664 hits straight on with the Earth. 828 00:48:03,733 --> 00:48:08,070 NARRATOR: Earth's magnetic field blocks and deflects the solar wind, 829 00:48:08,104 --> 00:48:11,874 protecting our planet from a full-on assault. 830 00:48:11,908 --> 00:48:14,443 But there is a back door 831 00:48:14,477 --> 00:48:17,513 that allows some of the charged particles from the solar wind 832 00:48:17,547 --> 00:48:19,315 to reach us. 833 00:48:19,349 --> 00:48:21,817 In the Earth's shadow, 834 00:48:21,852 --> 00:48:27,556 there is a region in space where charged particles accumulate. 835 00:48:27,591 --> 00:48:31,727 These particles, though drastically decreased in number, 836 00:48:31,761 --> 00:48:35,331 sneak in through small gaps in Earth's magnetic defenses. 837 00:48:38,568 --> 00:48:42,137 The charged particles dash toward Earth... 838 00:48:45,876 --> 00:48:51,080 ...and interact with the magnetic field, 839 00:48:51,114 --> 00:48:53,949 which deflects and diverts them to the poles. 840 00:48:59,522 --> 00:49:03,292 They rain down, forming luminous rings in the sky. 841 00:49:10,967 --> 00:49:13,769 The beautiful, vibrant colors of the aurora 842 00:49:13,803 --> 00:49:16,338 are visible evidence of the particles' interaction 843 00:49:16,373 --> 00:49:21,810 with Earth's second line of defense: the atmosphere. 844 00:49:21,845 --> 00:49:25,981 CAHOY: The aurora are different colors at different altitudes 845 00:49:26,016 --> 00:49:28,751 depending on the gases in the atmosphere 846 00:49:28,785 --> 00:49:31,687 that the particles are interacting with. 847 00:49:31,721 --> 00:49:33,956 So it's red at higher altitudes, it's oxygen, 848 00:49:33,990 --> 00:49:37,927 and then blue and green, oxygen and nitrogen, 849 00:49:37,961 --> 00:49:39,528 as it gets denser into the atmosphere 850 00:49:39,562 --> 00:49:40,996 where the gases get thicker. 851 00:49:41,031 --> 00:49:44,066 And then for really, really strong interactions 852 00:49:44,100 --> 00:49:46,035 of the particles, energetic particles 853 00:49:46,069 --> 00:49:47,703 really penetrating deep into the atmosphere, 854 00:49:47,737 --> 00:49:50,205 you may even see a pinkish purple color 855 00:49:50,240 --> 00:49:54,276 down at the bottom, where there's more nitrogen. 856 00:49:56,446 --> 00:49:59,481 NARRATOR: But sometimes, things can go wrong. 857 00:49:59,516 --> 00:50:01,450 Really wrong. 858 00:50:01,484 --> 00:50:06,021 Sometimes, the blast of charged particles can be so intense 859 00:50:06,056 --> 00:50:10,192 that the auroral ring thickens and vibrates explosively. 860 00:50:10,226 --> 00:50:13,662 CAHOY: There are these periodic events, these coronal mass ejections, 861 00:50:13,697 --> 00:50:16,732 where the gas just is incredibly more intense 862 00:50:16,766 --> 00:50:18,467 than it normally is. 863 00:50:18,501 --> 00:50:21,136 And this charged particle cloud will come out, 864 00:50:21,171 --> 00:50:22,538 spiral out towards the Earth, 865 00:50:22,572 --> 00:50:26,241 and our magnetic field will respond. 866 00:50:26,276 --> 00:50:30,746 NARRATOR: The Earth's magnetic field does a good job of protecting us. 867 00:50:30,780 --> 00:50:32,614 The more beautiful the aurora, 868 00:50:32,649 --> 00:50:37,252 the more intense the battle at the edge of space. 869 00:50:37,287 --> 00:50:39,588 And even satellites high above Earth 870 00:50:39,622 --> 00:50:44,026 can fall victim to the power of our Sun. 871 00:50:44,060 --> 00:50:49,631 In 1989, during a period of intense solar turbulence, 872 00:50:49,666 --> 00:50:52,768 induced electric currents caused by the aurora 873 00:50:52,802 --> 00:50:56,939 shut down the entire power grid in Quebec, Canada, 874 00:50:56,973 --> 00:50:58,607 in under two minutes. 875 00:50:58,641 --> 00:51:02,311 The province's largest city, Montreal, 876 00:51:02,345 --> 00:51:05,080 was crippled by power outages. 877 00:51:05,115 --> 00:51:07,282 Human activity throughout the region 878 00:51:07,317 --> 00:51:10,319 came to a halt for nine hours. 879 00:51:10,353 --> 00:51:14,690 The more recent "Halloween storms" of 2003 880 00:51:14,724 --> 00:51:18,327 caused hour-long power outages throughout Sweden 881 00:51:18,361 --> 00:51:21,864 and impacted satellites and aircraft communications. 882 00:51:21,898 --> 00:51:29,738 But the greatest solar storm on record took place in 1859. 883 00:51:29,773 --> 00:51:32,174 It created auroras so powerful 884 00:51:32,208 --> 00:51:36,045 they illuminated skies as far south as Hawaii and Panama, 885 00:51:36,079 --> 00:51:38,514 while playing havoc with telegraph systems 886 00:51:38,548 --> 00:51:40,716 around the planet. 887 00:51:40,750 --> 00:51:43,485 A similar storm today could devastate power grids 888 00:51:43,520 --> 00:51:47,890 and communication systems and cost billions to repair. 889 00:51:47,924 --> 00:51:52,127 In today's wired world, no one is invulnerable. 890 00:51:52,162 --> 00:51:53,962 CAHOY: Solar storms can affect 891 00:51:53,997 --> 00:51:56,565 satellite communications in different ways. 892 00:51:56,599 --> 00:52:01,703 Performance of your handheld radio, your GPS receiver, 893 00:52:01,738 --> 00:52:03,439 your satellite television receiver, 894 00:52:03,473 --> 00:52:04,940 your satellite radio receiver, 895 00:52:04,974 --> 00:52:08,377 all of these things can be affected by space weather. 896 00:52:10,947 --> 00:52:15,617 NARRATOR: We think of electricity as a modern invention, 897 00:52:15,652 --> 00:52:19,421 but the electric Earth has always been with us, 898 00:52:19,456 --> 00:52:21,990 surrounding our planet 899 00:52:22,025 --> 00:52:25,561 and connecting us to the edge of space. 900 00:52:52,255 --> 00:52:54,990 AsterThis:NOVAlprograms on a colis available on DVD.arth. 901 00:52:55,024 --> 00:53:00,329 To order, visit shoppbs.org, or call 1-800-playpbs. 902 00:53:00,363 --> 00:53:02,831 NOVA is also available for download on iTunes. 903 00:53:06,202 --> 00:53:02,831 Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org