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Lightning

The laser device sits on top of Mount Säntis, shooting a green laser into a cloudy sky.
Posted inNews

How to Bend Lightning with a Laser Beam

by Bill Morris 24 February 202324 February 2023

For the first time, scientists have redirected lightning using a laser beam. And that’s just the start of what’s possible.

Four bolts of lightning strike the ground simultaneously against a purple sky.
Posted inResearch Spotlights

Scientists Can Now Map Lightning in 3D

by Morgan Rehnberg 15 February 202315 February 2023

A new approach enables meter-scale localization of lightning strikes. And it’s already illuminating the basic physics of the phenomenon.

Photo of a red sprite shaped like a jellyfish above illuminated thunderclouds
Posted inNews

New Crowdsourced Science Project Will Study Sprites

by Erin Martin-Jones 15 December 202217 March 2023

The NASA-funded project is asking sky gazers, storm chasers, and scientists to capture photos of sprites and other optical phenomena that flash above thunderclouds after a lightning strike.

A bolt of lightning flashes across a night sky.
Posted inNews

Salt Spray May Stifle Lightning over the Sea

by Carolyn Wilke 1 November 20224 November 2022

New research suggests that sea-salt aerosols seed large raindrops that starve clouds of water needed to make lightning. But not all scientists are convinced it’s simply about salt spray.

A tall jet of lightning extends upward from a bright thundercloud in front of a dark starry sky. The gigantic jet is bright white at the base and then transitions to blue and then to red as it reaches upward. The top of the jet is wider than the base.
Posted inNews

Gigantic Jet of Lightning Mapped over Oklahoma

by Kimberly M. S. Cartier 7 September 20227 September 2022

The most powerful gigantic jet ever recorded fortuitously appeared over a sensor array in Oklahoma, enabling scientists to map the structure of the phenomenon for the first time.

Map of Alaska showing the study regions and a bar graph showing wildfire events by year.
Posted inEditors' Highlights

Lightning in Alaskan Tundra Ignites Most Fires

by Valeriy Ivanov 19 July 202211 August 2022

Cloud-to-ground lightning is found to be the most important controller of wildfire occurrence in the Artic tundra of Alaska from 2001 to 2019.

Lightning over water
Posted inResearch Spotlights

Lightning Had Difficulty Forming in Early Earth’s Atmosphere

by Rebecca Dzombak 8 April 202225 April 2022

Lightning could have sparked the beginnings of life, but the primordial atmosphere might have made it more difficult for lightning to initiate.

Lightning striking the hills behind the small town of Villalonga, Spain.
Posted inNews

Cleaner Pandemic Air Led to Reduced Lightning Strikes Worldwide

by Krystal Vasquez 26 January 20226 July 2022

As people stayed home during the COVID-19 lockdowns, air quality improved. But the improvement was accompanied by an unusual meteorological side effect: a decrease in lightning.

White clouds swirl above blue ocean and green land as Tropical Storm Nepartak churns through the Pacific Ocean.
Posted inNews

Lightning Tames Typhoon Intensity Forecasting

by Alka Tripathy-Lang 20 August 202119 November 2021

Typhoons regularly drench densely populated western Pacific regions, but lightning could forecast intensity more than a day before a storm’s strength peaks.

Four men at a dining table show surprise as a ball of lightning shoots in through a window.
Posted inNews

Have You Seen Ball Lightning? Scientists Want to Know About It

by Jenessa Duncombe 15 July 202119 October 2021

Reports of ghostly spheres of light are often too qualitative. These scientists want your detailed accounts.

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