Japan Storm Fires Record Number of Gigantic Jets Into Space (Video) By David Freeman - June 26, 2025
In the early hours of June 26, 2025, something extraordinary lit up the skies above Japan. Between 2:00 AM and 4:00 AM, more than 20 massive high-altitude discharges known as Gigantic Jets were captured erupting from the tops of thunderclouds and reaching into the edge of space. These powerful lightning-like events are far rarer than sprites or blue jets and are rarely seen more than once or twice during a storm. What happened over Japan was unlike any previous observation.
Gigantic Jets are massive electrical discharges that leap upward from storm systems into the ionosphere, often travelling as high as 90 kilometres. While typical lightning strikes downward or stays within clouds, these jets push electric charge vertically into space, forming narrow columns of light that branch like trees across the night sky. What makes this event so unusual is the sheer number: over 20 jets recorded in just two hours from a single storm system.
The footage, played at half speed, shows jets launching in quick succession. Some appear as single powerful spikes, others split into branching structures that flash and fade within fractions of a second. Each one rises from a different part of the storm, suggesting extremely dynamic and unstable conditions within the cloud tops. Normally, Gigantic Jets require very specific atmospheric ingredients. The thunderstorm must have intense vertical convection, an unusually high cloud top, and a strong imbalance of electrical charge that fails to discharge through normal lightning.
This event implies that all of those conditions were present and operating on overdrive. While scientists have occasionally captured one or two Gigantic Jets during tropical cyclones or severe storms, this sudden outburst over Japan now ranks among the most concentrated and intense displays ever caught on camera. Some jets in the video reach nearly to the edge of space before vanishing in less than a second. Others seem to trigger a chain reaction, launching one after another as different parts of the storm ignite.
Unlike red sprites, which are often fuzzy and fan-shaped, Gigantic Jets are sharply defined, with a visible core channel. Their brightness, speed, and reach make them far more dramatic. They also carry significant charge into the upper atmosphere, possibly affecting global electric circuits and even contributing to rare chemical reactions in the ionosphere. But the science behind them remains mostly unexplored.
The storm over Japan is now being reviewed by weather and atmospheric science teams, who are likely to study satellite data, lightning detection logs, and infrared footage to understand how such a rare outburst could occur. For now, the only record is this video compilation — a slow-motion window into one of the most powerful natural electrical events ever seen.
on June 28, 2025, 6:19 pm
