Andreas Mogensen captures gigantic lightning from the ISS and Sprite Video

For years, their existence has been debated - elusive electrical discharges in the upper atmosphere that sport names such as red sprites, blue jets, pixies and elves.

But an astronaut has confirmed the displays do exist, capturing stunning footage of them from the International Space Station.

New findings have been published which suggest that the electrical discharges may unsettle the chemistry of the stratosphere, with possible implications for the Earth's radiation balance.

Denmark's National Space Institute has now published the results, which include a video recorded by Mr Mogensen as he flew over the Bay of Bengal at 28,800 km/h.

Some of the most notable findings suggest that the discharges appear to play a crucial role in the exchange of gases between the troposphere
and the stratosphere.

Until now, researchers thought that sprites were red because of nitrogen interacting with electricity in the upper atmosphere.

But the new study suggests that sprites actually release a comparably large amount of serveral oxides of nitrogen in the upper atmosphere.