For years, researchers have been studying red sprites and blue jets - strange forms of lightning that come out of the tops of clouds. On May 27th, 2014, a new form appeared.
Pilot Cherdphong Visarathanonth was in the cockpit of an A320 at the airport in Bangkok, Thailand, when he saw a white tornado-like beam dancing atop this cumulonimbus cloud.
“We could see the same phenomenon through both windshields even after the aircraft has pushing back in a different direction,” says Visarathanonth. “I made a 4-minute video in which we can see the phenomenon quickly moving and disappearing from time to time.”
Brian Whittaker, another pilot with extensive sky watching experience, says, “I have seen Blue Jets and Sprites, but this is something totally different. Good luck figuring out what it is.”
WATCH THE VIDEO: