The Hacker News discussion revolves around an image of a "sprite" (a type of upper-atmospheric electrical discharge) captured from the ISS. The conversation touches on the quality of the provided image, the nature of these atmospheric phenomena, historical accounts, scientific understanding, and broader societal issues related to skepticism, belief, and the scientific method.
Image Quality and Accessibility
A significant portion of the discussion centers on the initial low resolution of the linked image and the difficulty in finding higher-resolution versions. Users express frustration with linked images that are not the primary subject or are of poor quality.
- "All of this and the only image linked is a collage clocking in at a whopping 512x218px...anyone know where we can see the full resolution? It looks spectacular from the thumbnail!" - ericwood
- "Yeah, annoying. This one is better:" - diggernet
- "What is that, an image for ants??? I absolutely cannot stand it when a site, especially a government site, doesn't post the original, high resolution, images. However, it seems like it's an archeological expedition to find the high resolution, high quality image." - NoSalt
The Nature and Science of Sprites and Transient Luminous Events (TLEs)
The primary focus of the discussion is on the "sprites" themselves. Users share links, speculate on their physics, and draw parallels to other atmospheric phenomena. The colors of the sprites, particularly red and green, spark a debate about atomic oxygen and nitrogen.
- "Very impressive video! Such sprites must have been seen at that altitude often enough in history, and as they're quite distinct from lightening I wonder if there is an historical record of them?" - pcrh
- "Best guess, high altitude atomic oxygen. Based on the wikipedia aurora article it sounds like the lower atmosphere has a more mixed bag of gasses, so it glows white, while in the upper atmosphere atomic oxygen(note that oxygen lower down is all diatomic and glows green) is able to showcase it's characteristic red glow." - somat
- "I think the green is oxygen and the red is nitrogen, same as in the aurora." - abakker
- "Looks like a scene from a sci-fi movie, where earth is being attacked ;-)" - NKosmatos
- "Upward lightnings happen frequently enough, there is a guy called Tom Warner that has done pretty extensive research into this including high speed photography. Here is his website[0] very cool stuff indeed." - jacquesm (quoting sharpshadow)
Historical Context and Skepticism Towards New Discoveries
Several users draw parallels between the initial dismissal or under-appreciation of sprites and other phenomena that were initially met with skepticism before being scientifically documented. This leads to a broader discussion about how scientific understanding evolves and how anecdotal evidence or unusual observations are treated.
- "Pilot had been reporting things like that for years but nobody would believe them because they weren't 'trained observers', until a pilot caught it on film in the 80's." - GarnetFloride
- "Same with sailors, who've been repairing rogue waves for centuries, but it wasn't until it was recorded scientifically on an oil rig that scientists took it seriously." - GarnetFloride
- "In 1995 or 1997, can't remember which, I flew from Belo Horizonte to Miami (if the former) or NYC (latter). When we were flying over what I think is the Caribbean, I recall seeing 'upward lightnings'. They were absolutely majestic. I was absolutely awaken. I don't remember much else as I was a kid but seeing this text made me come back to this beautiful memory." - dkga
Light Pollution
The presence of light pollution is noted as a significant factor impacting observations of the night sky, even from high altitudes.
- "Thanks, that's a much better photo. You can really see the effects of light pollution well in that one too." - arghnoname
- "What amazes me more then the jet, is the amount of light pollution from the cities." - benjiro
- "Yes, and that influence reaches far outside of the cities themselves. I only realized this after moving to rural Canada where on a clear night you would see the sky in a way that you could never see it within 30 km of any major city. It is hard to describe in words, you'd have to go up North during a cold winter night and lay down and stare upwards." - jacquesm
Broader Societal Issues: Skepticism, Belief, and Scientific Literacy
The discussion veers into a more philosophical and societal realm, exploring why certain beliefs persist despite scientific evidence, the role of classism in scientific acceptance, and the nature of scientific inquiry itself. This is sparked by comments about the potential for future acceptance of phenomena like "ghost experiences."
- "Classism in higher education, science, etc is sadly all too common. Even those in the 'correct' class have uphill battles as science very much is vulnerable to ego, politics, etc and reform can be difficult, or in some cases impossible, regardless of merit." - zoeysmithe
- "It makes you wonder what obvious thing is being ignored right now due to these politics. I would not be 100% surprised if people in the future accepted things like 'ghost experiences' as normal things." - zoeysmithe
- "Not to mention flat-earthers, climate change deniers, 5G-causes-vaccines activists burning down 4G towers as they have no idea what 5G even is, etc., etc. It's all too easy for the less skeptical to be misguided. :/" - arghwhat
- "This is a common sentiment, but it is also a declaration of epistemic bankruptcy, thus incompatible with the scientific method." - kriops (referring to the idea that "no one is experiencing the same reality")
- "The quote is a bit of an utter bullshit. Almost like its a colloquial phrase of Plancks writings, that represents how the quantum revolution played out for so many people." - mrguyorama (discussing the Max Planck quote "Science advances one funeral at a time.")
- "I saw something weird on a red-eye recently that maybe someone can explain: We were going over a pretty rural area. I saw what looked like the fan of headlights but in these large marbleized shapes like large lightning-crackles. They just sort of moved across the ground and then fizzled out. The movement patterns would be kind of like clouds dissipating but it definitely looked like lights? Very weird." - soupfordummies
The Role of Social Media and Information Dissemination
The reliance on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter) for sharing information and the potential for misdirection or errors in links are also highlighted.
- "Also all the social media links are wrong lol. I clicked on the instagram link to 'nasascience' expecting to find a higher quality photo and it turned out to be some random Turkish dude with 3 posts and 1 follower." - porphyra
- "Surely X isn't the sole source for this?" - th0ma5
- "Sure, why not? It's the sole source for a lot of things, just like reddit is the sole source for a lot of other things, so why go anywhere else?" - stronglikedan
The Scientific Method and Observation
The importance of systematic observation and documentation, even for seemingly strange or anecdotal events, is discussed, with a nod to the principle that "the only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down."
- "As Adam Savage famously said (though I'm sure he was far from the first): 'Remember kids, the only difference between screwing around and science is writing it down.' The quote is a bit of an oversimplification, i.e. 'writing it down' isn't all there is to the scientific method, but the core idea something wasn't science until the scientific method was applied is both a tautology and a good thing." - zamadatix