Sprites and energetic radiation above thunderstorms

The discovery of transient airglows above thunderstorms, known as sprites and jets, have shed a fresh new light on a `terra incognita´ in the Earth´s atmosphere, the area above thunderstorms. The fast discovery pace of novel phenomena has spurred studies of energetic radiation, relativistic particles and anti-matter emanating from inside thunderclouds and above thunderlcouds. These observations mark a profound advance in our understanding of the Earth´s atmospheric electrodynamic behaviour. Namely, the discoveries mandate the inclusion of cosmic rays, relativistic electron beams, large scales, and energetic feedback processes in our thinking about the Earth´s atmosphere, perhaps best collectively summarised as relativistic atmospheric electrodynamics.