Now that is extremely interesting, Jimmy. They would be in a prime position to see them considering a percentage are litterally out in the middle of no-man's land. I'm sure they refer to these events as 'marfa lights'.
I read the following re observing them and the best viewing distance from the storm is 100-200 miles (200-300 km). At these distances sprites will subtend a vertical angular distance of 10-20 degrees. This is 2-4 times the separation of the pointer stars in the Big Dipper. Do we need telecopes or the naked eye for this!
For observing sprites, it must be completely dark. (i. e. no longer twilight)
Eyes must be completely dark adapted. Use same criteria for this as for astronomical observing. If you can see the Milky Way, then it is probably dark enough and the eyes have adapted enough to see sprites.
And this for blue jets I found this explanation courtesy of
http://elf.gi.alaska.edu/#how 'Blue jets are a second high altitude optical phenomenon, distinct from sprites.observed above thunderstorms using low light television systems. As their name implies, blue jets are optical ejections from the top of the electrically active core regions of thunderstorms. Following their emergence from the top of the thundercloud, they typically propagate upward in narrow cones of about 15 degrees full width at vertical speeds of roughly 100 km/s (Mach 300), fanning out and disappearing at heights of about 40-50 km. Their intensities are on the order of 800 kR near the base, decreasing to about 10 kR near the upper terminus. These correspond to an estimated optical energy of about 4 kJ, a total energy of about 30 MJ, and an energy density on the order of a few mJ/m^3. Blue jets are not aligned with the local magnetic field.'
Mach 300? No wonder they're best viewed from satellites and the shuttle.
MIke
