Lightning

Latest about lightning

Three sequential photos of a 'gigantic jet' lightning bolt blasting out of the top of a cloud over Oklahoma, and shooting directly into space.

'Gigantic jet' that shot into space may be the most powerful lightning bolt ever detected

By Brandon Specktor published

Scientists detected the most powerful gigantic jet lightning bolt — a lightning bolt that shoots up out of a cloud into the ionosphere — ever.

Weather
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Video Reveals 'Sprite' Lightning Secrets

By Dave Mosher last updated

Ultra-fast, ultra-bright sprites caught forming in the act.

Weather
Column-shaped red sprites

Brilliant Red Sprite Lightning Caught on Camera

By Becky Oskin last updated

Weather
Lightning strikes light up the sky in Montevideo, Uruguay on Feb. 20, 2022.

What's the longest lightning bolt ever recorded?

By Emma Bryce published

Lightning is one of the greatest natural forces on our planet. New mapping tools are revealing just how big it is.

Weather
An illustration showing the donut-shaped Van Allen radiation belts swirling around Earth, with electrons spiraling through them.

Ultra-fast electron rain is pouring out of Earth's magnetosphere, and scientists think they know why

By Brandon Specktor published

Scientists discovered the mechanism that causes electrons to 'downpour' into Earth's atmosphere.

Astronomy
video clip shows the height of the volcanic plume generated by an underwater volcano called Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai

Tonga underwater volcano eruption shattered two records

By Nicoletta Lanese published

The eruption triggered nearly 590,000 lightning strikes.

Volcanos
A lightning "mapper" on the GOES-16 satellite captured images of the megaflash lightning bolt on April 29, 2020, over the southeastern U.S.

Lightning bolt breaks record for longest ever recorded

By Stephanie Pappas published

Storms in the U.S. and Uruguay set new records for longest lightning bolt and longest-duration lightning flash.

Weather
An artist's illustration of a kite with a key being struck by lightning

Did Benjamin Franklin really discover electricity with a kite and key?

By Jacklin Kwan published

Here's what historians have to say about whether Benjamin Franklin really flew a kite tied to a key during a lightning storm.

Human Behavior
What would happen if the speed of sound was as fast as the speed of light?

What if the speed of sound were as fast as the speed of light?

By Isobel Whitcomb published

The speed of light moves 1 million times faster than the speed of sound. What would happen if the speed of sound sped up to match it?

Physics & Mathematics
mars dust storm

7 solar system worlds where the weather is crazy

By Jonathan O'Callaghan, Daisy Dobrijevic, How It Works magazine published

What's the weather like on other worlds? Expect methane rain, global haboobs and a 10,000-mile-wide hurricane.

Astronomy
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