All Physics Faculty Publications
Document Type
Poster
Journal/Book Title/Conference
APS April Meeting 2010
Location
Washington, D.C.
Publication Date
2-13-2010
Abstract
Sprites and Halos are prominent members of an extraordinary family of Transient Luminous Events (TLEs) that have been discovered over the past 20 years. Halos are short-lived (few millisecond) diffuse optical emissions that appear as horizontal bright disks suspended above distant thunderstorms. They frequently precede the formation of a vertically structured sprite. Reports of halos are relatively few and indicate a limited height range centered at approximately 80 km with optical diameters up to about 100 km. Unlike sprite events, which occur almost exclusively in association with large positive cloud-to-ground lightning discharges, halos have recently been observed from satellites in association with both positive and negative discharges. This presentation compares the optical and electrical properties of a large number of halos and sprite-halos imaged over the U.S. Great Plains and over Northern Argentina in South America. Our goal is to improve current knowledge of their characteristics and variability.
Recommended Citation
Petersen, Lance; Taylor, M. J.; Bailey, M.; Hayes, J.; Pautet, P.-D.; and Cummer, S., "Comparison of Sprite-Halo Characteristics Imaged Over the USA and South America" (2010). All Physics Faculty Publications. Paper 2164.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/physics_facpub/2164
