On early Earth, rock created by lightning strikes to the ground likely held a form of phosphorus necessary for prebiotic chemistry.
lightning
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Upward Lightning Takes Its Cue from Nearby Lightning Events
Lightning in a thunderstorm changes the electromagnetic field in a way that sparks upward lightning from tall structures.
Posted inNews
Rare Wintertime Thunderstorms Recorded over the U.S. Gulf Coast
“Thundersnow”—thunderstorm activity accompanying a winter storm—was spotted near southern Texas earlier this year.
Posted inNews
Arctic Lightning Up 300% in One 11-Year Study
The increase may be due to climate change, researchers suggest, but the trend hasn’t been observed in other lightning data sets.
Posted inNews
More Acidic Water Might Supercharge Lightning
New research suggests ocean acidification could make lighting more intense.
Posted inNews
Decrease in Lightning Recorded over the Lower 48
Researchers mining data from the National Lightning Detection Network found a 32% decrease in lightning counts in May and June 2020 compared with previous years.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
A New Look at Global Lightning from the Space Station
The Lightning Imaging Sensor on the International Space Station provides an expanded view of global lightning that improves scientific understanding of the Earth as well as public safety.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Streamer Corona Discharges in Thunderstorms Detected from Space
Concurrent detection from space and the ground of blue optical flashes from streamer corona discharges at altitudes between 8.5 and 14 kilometers and radio waves.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Lightning Discharge Type Linked to Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flashes
For the first time, the connection between energetic in cloud pulse and terrestrial gamma‐ray flashes is confirmed in the Gamma-Ray Observation of Winter Thunderclouds experiment in Japan.