Low-Light Video Observations of Frequent Luminous Structures in the Stratosphere above Thunderstorms

A new series of video measurements were made of the phenomenon provisionally termed the cloud-to-stratosphere (CS) event, an electrical discharge extending to great heights above thunderstorm tops. This new series of measurements were accomplished by properly positioning a sensor, the Xybion model ISS 225 low-light monochrome imaging system with a C-mount fl.8 manual zoom lens, and training it on the appropriate portion of the sky above a distant thunderstorm complex mean Fort Collins, Colorado. The resulting images are currently undergoing intensive analysis. Some tentative conclusions are given. Cloud-to-stratosphere events occur far more frequently than previously suspected and are perhaps a ubiquitous aspect of many larger convective systems. Cloud-to-stratosphere events are also of substantial horizontal extent, on the order of tens of kilometers in some cases.