Mysterious Sprite Photographed By ISS Astronaut

astroengine writes "A very rare and beautiful view of a red sprite has been photographed by Expedition 31 astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) hovering just above a bright flash of lightning in a thunderstorm over Myanmar. First documented in a photo in 1989, red sprites are very brief flashes of optical activity that are associated with powerful lightning discharges in storms — although the exact mechanisms that create them aren't yet known. But the orbiting outpost seems like the perfect vantage point to learn more about them!"

Re:When man bites dog, it's news

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, the first comma shouldn't be there. Commas, in this case, set off the subordinate clause that begins with "hovering just above". You can determine if a clause is subordinate by moving it around in the sentence and checking that the sentence still makes sense.

Hovering just above a bright flash of lightning in a thunderstorm over Myanmar, a very rare and beautiful view of a red sprite has been photographed by Expedition 31 astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

or

A very rare and beautiful view of a red sprite, hovering just above a bright flash of lightning in a thunderstorm over Myanmar, has been photographed by Expedition 31 astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

Try moving the phrase "by Expedition 31 astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS)" around and you'll see that it can't be easily moved. For example, the following configuration makes no sense.

By Expedition 31 astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), a very rare and beautiful view of a red sprite has been photographed hovering just above a bright flash of lightning in a thunderstorm over Myanmar.

The phrase isn't subordinate and shouldn't be set off by commas. Thus, although awkward, the grammatically correct sentence should be as follows.

A very rare and beautiful view of a red sprite has been photographed by Expedition 31 astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS), hovering just above a bright flash of lightning in a thunderstorm over Myanmar.

Thank you for reading long enough to get to the end of this super-pedantic post. :)