Aeronomy
Videos
Aeronomy is the scientific study of the upper atmosphere of the Earth and corresponding regions of the atmospheres of other planets. It is a branch of both atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physic
Representation of upper-atmospheric lightning and electrical-discharge phenomena
ISS 48 Towering cumulonimbus and other clouds over the Earth
Nssl 0020
Black Brant
Upper-atmospheric lightning
Videos
Upper-atmospheric lightning and ionospheric lightning are short-lived electrical-breakdown phenomena that occur well above the altitudes of normal lightning and storm clouds. Upper-atmospheric lightni
Sprites above Rome seen from Antibes
A gigantic jet photographed from the International Space Station on July 3, 2025
A gigantic jet photographed from the Gemini Observatory on Mauna Kea on July 24, 2017
Photograph of an ELVES, taken from Possagno, TV, Italy, on March 27, 2023, at 21:43 UTC. The lightning that triggered it was in Polverigi, AN, Italy, at a distance of 285 km (177 mi). Its strength, estimated at 410 kilo-Ampères, which is an order of magnitude stronger than a normal lightning (10 to 30 kilo-Ampère), generated an intense electromagnetic pulse. The red ring marks where the pulse hit the Earth's ionosphere. The duration was about 1 millisecond. The "donut" has a diameter of approximately