Upper-atmospheric lightning

Upper-atmospheric lightning and ionospheric lightning are short lived electrical breakdown phenomena that occur well above the altitudes of normal lightning and storm clouds. It is believed to be an electrically induced form of luminous plasma. The preferred scientific term is transient luminous event, because the various types of electrical discharge phenomena in the upper atmosphere lack several of the characteristics of the more familiar tropospheric lightning that occurs closer to the ground. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/