Lightning can produce X-rays and gamma radiation. In the past, researchers thought that this phenomenon only lasted for a very short time, about one ten-thousandth of a second. However, the ionizing radiation of lightning ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 24, 2017
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Lightning is a unique and fascinating phenomenon that has been studied for centuries. Although we now have a better understanding of this naturally occurring spectacle, many of its secrets are yet to be uncovered.
Scientists have gained the best view yet of the brightest explosions in the universe: A specialized observatory in Namibia has recorded the most energetic radiation and longest gamma-ray afterglow of a so-called gamma-ray ...
Astronomy
Jun 3, 2021
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Somewhere on Earth, there's always a lightning flash. The globe experiences lightning some 50 times a second, yet the details of what initiates this common occurrence and what effects it has on the atmosphere – lightning ...
Astronomy
Nov 15, 2013
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Scientists now know that thunderstorms, working as powerful natural terrestrial particle accelerators, produce intense flashes of ionizing radiation called "dark lightning." To further their understanding of this phenomena, ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 13, 2013
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Ever attend a wild party with flashing lights and loud music that snowballs into a dazzling moment worth remembering? That's something like how scientists describe the chain reactions in our atmosphere that lead to lightning. ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 7, 2013
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Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes occur above some thunderstorms and propagate out into space. These high-energy discharges of photons were only discovered less than 25 years ago when a NASA spacecraft designed to observe cosmic ...
Astronomy
May 15, 2019
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(Phys.org)—An experiment to study the effects of lightning flashes on Earth's atmosphere has taken its first steps on its journey to space. The Firestation experiment has undergone numerous tests to make sure it's ready ...
Space Exploration
Nov 6, 2012
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A flash of lightning. A roll of thunder. These are normal stormy sights and sounds. But sometimes, up above the clouds, stranger things happen. Our Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has spotted bursts of gamma rays—some of ...
Space Exploration
Feb 6, 2024
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Analysis of data from a lightning mapper and a small, hand-held radiation detector has unexpectedly shed light on what a gamma-ray burst from lightning might look like—by observing neutrons generated from soil by very large ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 28, 2021
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