Electric Skies: The Mystery of Lightning

3.5 million lightning bolts strike the Earth every day.

They can reach lengths of up to 700 kilometers and temperatures of up to 35,000 degrees Celsius. We humans only see a small part of this. The ISS provides spectacular images of light phenomena that sparkle in bright red or blue. American storm chasers have now succeeded for the first time in documenting these “transient luminous events” from Earth. They appear for only a fraction of a second and can shine all the way into the stratosphere. As destructive as lightning is, it can also promote life. Not only does its energy promote plant growth, lightning may even have played an important role in the origin of life itself.

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