Sprite caught on video

[mburdette]

I took some video this evening of the storms going through my area with my digital camera. Part of the video was of a storm with intense lightening. Upon playback after downloading to the computer, I noticed a beautiful pink sprite emitting from above the cloud in conjunction with a particularly strong lightening bolt.

My question is, is there a way to save a still image from the video? It is currently in an AVI format, and I was watching it on the Windows Media Player. If there is a way to save the still, I will post it here.

Thanks in advance!

 

[KC1UA]

I'm sure there's a more sophisticated way to do it, but you could always pause it at that point if possible, and then do a CTRL-ALT-Print Screen. This will take a screenshot of the active window, which you can then paste to Paint as a .bmp file. That's the simplest way I can think of to do it, if you're quick enough to pause the video during the event.

 

[brandon]

VLC Media Player lets you take screen shots from video.
If you do it from Windows Media Player I believe you have to turn off video acceleration in the options otherwise you get nothing but black in the video area.

 

[mburdette]

Thanks, scancapecod. I managed to get two shots a fraction of a second apart to upload.

I didn't see the sprite when it happened, but it is cool to watch on the video.

 

[KC1UA]

Neat shots. That must be a neat video to watch. I've always been a severe weather fan (from a distance ) . Lots of good video on You Tube also. My wife has family in the St. Louis area and I've seen some pretty good shows visiting out there.

 

[ka3jjz]

Those are some neat shots. The first I ever heard of the term was during a talk by former Shuttle astronaut Ron Parise. Interesting to see them reported from ground level rather than 200+ miles up 73s Mike

 

[kb2vxa]

It's extremely rare to catch a sprite from ground level, rare enough to see them from above. All things considered the odds against it are astronomical and that video would be cherished by researchers for it's exceptional clarity. Thanks for the still, I've just archived it with some other neat lightning phenomena I've collected.

 

[hoser147]

Thats neat and a good catch. Any way you can put the video on line, on you tube or whatever? Hoser

 

[mburdette]

Thanks everyone, for the kind comments! I have uploaded the video to YouTube if you want to see it. It is only a quick 3-4 second video, and really, I think the stills are better than the video. But,...it does maybe show how hard the still was to catch.

P.S. This is the first video I have ever uploaded to YouTube, so please be nice!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhnsjIu5VM0

 

[Q101ATFD]

I hate to ruin the fun here, but you have not actually captured a sprite. What you have is lens interference from the bright flash of light from the stroke. More than likely, it is a reflection, or 'ghost,' caused by the aperture trying to adjust to the rapid change in light.

Sprites occur much higher in the atmospere (~50 miles) than what this image shows. Also, they eminate directly from the cloud top, which, does not match up with the gap in the photo still.

If you compare the contrast enhanced version with the original, you can see that the 'ghost' stroke (on the top of the frame) is the same exact size and shape, and has the same horizontal offset, as the main cloud to ground stroke.

Regardless, it is still a nice video.

 

[mburdette]

I hate to ruin the fun here, but

Yes, you ARE a party-pooper......but I think you are right. Very observant!!

If you compare the contrast enhanced version with the original, you can see that the 'ghost' stroke (on the top of the frame) is the same exact size and shape, and has the same horizontal offset, as the main cloud to ground stroke.

Regardless, it is still a nice video.

Contrast enhanced version? If you are referring to the two stills I posted, they are simply two places I paused the video, and the second picture is actually a fraction of a second earlier than the first. Don't know why I uploaded them in reverse order....

Regardless, I am leaning towards agreeing with you. I may send the video to a couple of places that research sprites and related phenomena. Whatever it is, it appears to rise rapidly upward from the storm, and if it is a camera-related illusion or not, I am interested to know.

 

[Q101ATFD]

Don't bother - I have a degree in atmospheric science... I can list off more proof if you need.

 

[mburdette]

Don't bother - I have a degree in atmospheric science... I can list off more proof if you need.

Not necessary! I thought about the video yesterday, and everything you said is good enough for me. I read a little about sprites on some websites, and agree it is not a sprite in the video. There are many other factors that were not present to have even had a chance to see a true sprite or related phenonema such as: it was not dark enough, and I was probably only 10 miles or so from the storm. If I understood correctly what I have read, it must be totally dark, and it is better to be much farther than this from the storm because of the altitude they reach. Plus, this looks nothing like any photographs I have seen. I guess I was excited by seeing something unexpected. It is interesting to see what such an intense bolt of lightening did to the image, though.

Thank you for your input.

 

[mburdette]

......and I learned how to get a still image from video and get it online. I know, I know, ....not a big deal to some of you, but it is fun to learn things like this. We all know people who are so intimidated a a PC, they believe it is beyond their intelligence capabilities to even try something new.

...guess that applies to life as well, doesn't it?