Stumping the Best Scientists for 50 Years: Physicists Solve a Lightning Mystery
Approximately 8.6 million lightning strikes take place each day all over the planet, each moving at a speed of more than 320,000 kilometers per hour…
Lightning News
Volcanic Lightning: The Science Behind This Spectacular Phenomenon
You’ve undoubtedly gazed out of the window to marvel at a lightning storm in all its glory. Thunderstorms are certainly a sight to behold, but…
A New Look at Earth’s Lightning – From a Sensor Installed on the International Space Station
A sensor installed on the International Space Station is yielding fresh insights on the global distribution of lightning. Since the dawn of humanity, lightning has…
Harnessing Thor’s Hammer: Forensic Science Is Unlocking the Mysteries of Fatal Lightning Strikes
Scientists in South African and the UK have found the smoking gun in forensic lightning pathology that could help save lives threatened by the increase…
Lightning Impacts Edge of Space in Ways Not Previously Observed
Solar flares jetting out from the sun and thunderstorms generated on Earth impact the planet’s ionosphere in different ways, which have implications for the ability…
Lightning Strikes Will More Than Double in Arctic As Climate Warms, Driving Increased Wildfires and Warming
University of California, Irvine-led team reports that an increase in lightning will drive both wildfires and warming above Arctic Circle. In 2019, the National Weather…
Lightning Strikes Played a Vital Role – Just As Important as Meteorites – in Life’s Origins on Earth
Lightning strikes were just as important as meteorites in creating the perfect conditions for life to emerge on Earth, geologists say. Minerals delivered to Earth…
AI Predicts Where and When Lightning Will Strike – Can Even Issue Alerts Before Storm Has Formed
Researchers at EPFL have developed a novel way of predicting lightning strikes to the nearest 10 to 30 minutes and within a radius of 30…
How Gamma-Rays from Lightning Produce Radioisotopes and Positrons
A storm system approaches: the sky darkens, and the low rumble of thunder echoes from the horizon. Then without warning… Flash! Crash! — lightning has…
Schumann Resonance Could Help Reveal the Solar System’s Origins
In 2011 researchers realized that they could use NASA’s Vector Electric Field Instrument aboard the Air Force’s Communications/Navigation Outage Forecast System satellite to detect Schumann…
Laser Beams Used to Create Filament Paths Could Potentially Direct Lightning
Lasers beams have been used for the first time to trigger and divert lightning bolts. It was first postulated in the 1990s that lasers could…
