The New York Times unintentionally provided evidence for climate skeptics in a fascinating Sunday article titled, “On the Hunt for a Sprite on a Midsummer’s Night.” The piece by Sandra Blakeslee features the work of  Thomas Ashcraft, “[o]ne of a growing corps of citizens who advance the scientific process in every field from astronomy to zoology. Ashcraft has been documenting a recently-discovered atmospheric phenomenon called “sprites,” described as “majestic emanations of light that flash for an instant high above the thunderheads.” Here is one of Ashcraft’s photos, reproduced in the Times: Sprites were not documented until 1989, because they last a fraction of a second, and are perceived by the naked eye as flashes of light. It wasn’t until videotape captured them, and a frame-by-frame analysis revealed their shapes, that they came to be identified and named. So far, atmospheric scientists have...(Read Full Post)