Sporadic visual reports of sprites go back at least to 1886, but they were first photographed on July 6, 1989 by scientists from the University of Minnesota and have subsequently been captured in video recordings many thousands of times.
Sporadiske øjenvidneberetninger om røde feer går tilbage til 1886, men røde feer blev først fotograferet den 6. juli 1989 af forskere fra University of Minnesota og er efterfølgende blevet optaget på videooptagelser mange tusinde gange.