NASA’s Juno spacecraft has captured footage of what appears to be electrical “sprites” or “elves” in the atmosphere of Jupiter. This is the first time such phenomena were observed on the gas giant. The new results suggest that these lightning-like electrical outbursts would normally occur in the upper reaches of the famous tumultuous atmosphere of Jupiter.

The Sprites On Jupiter Are the First to Have Been Observed On Another Planet

On Earth, bright flashes caused by thunderstorms and lightning strikes can create tendrils that are called “sprites” or glowing disks, which are known as “elves.” These transient luminous events were believed to also occur on Jupiter because of its lighting storms, but they had not been observed so far.

Last summer, Juno’s ultraviolet spectrograph instrument allowed researchers to observe Jupiter’s aurora, and that resulted in a surprise discovery of a bright narrow streak of ultraviolet light emission. Although it disappeared very quickly, the event gave scientists reason to believe they have detected a transient luminous event on Jupiter.

On Earth, Sprites and Elves Appear Different

Sprites and elves are events that last for just milliseconds and are triggered by lightning charges from violent thunderstorms that look like a giant red sky jellyfish. They are usually over in a flash and appear reddish in color because they interact with our nitrogen-rich atmosphere. On Jupiter, the atmosphere is mainly hydrogen, which is why the sprites and elves appear pink or blue.

Transient luminous events on Jupiter were confirmed after scientists searched over the Juno mission data from the last four years and found eleven bright events that took place in a region known to form thunder and lightning. After the researchers confirmed the events lasted just milliseconds and were not just mega-bolts of lightning, they were able to say these were in fact sprites or elves. Now that scientists know what they are looking for, they look forward to finding more evidence on Jupiter and even on other planets that are known for having thunderstorms.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only managed to keep everyone at home but has also proved to be a boon for many companies. Take Sony Corporation for instance- the company is seeing a major demand for the PlayStation 5 gaming console during this ongoing pandemic. Over the past three months, the Japanese giant reported a profit rise of 26%.

PS5 Sales Predictions as Per Company Experts

The company experts have been paying close attention to the demand of the market. As per Sony, by March 202, the company might end up selling close to 14.8 million PS5 gaming consoles priced at £360 or $500 apiece. Due to the continuous rise of the product, the production volumes have also increased but are still not enough to catch up with the growing demand.

Website Report Crashes Due to the Constant Demand

In the UK alone retailers have been overwhelmed with the kind of response they are getting from potential buyers. Companies like Tesco and John Lewis along with gaming sites have faced many issues with their websites crashing down.

The Company’s Take on the Production Challenge

Hiroki Totoko the chief financial offer at Sony in his recent interview stated that the company did have enough chips to manufacture a significant number of pieces. However, due to the high demands of the PS5, the company may face challenges in the production of other consumer products and devices.

So, What is in Store?

Well, given the fact that the Play Station 5 is in demand, the company plans to ensure that they do everything in their power to ensure that they can live up to the numbers. However, in order to do so, Sony is working on ways to ensure that not only are they able to handle the end needs but also ensure that they work on the PS5 software well in advance considering the huge market demand.