Studying thunderstorms from space
WHEN a thunderstorm strikes, one sees a spectacle of bright white flashes accompanied by loud cracks. For an elevated view, scientists have traditionally launched expensive equipment into space or flown specialised aircraft to altitudes of 18,000 metres, almost twice the height that commercial planes fly at. A team of Danish scientists teamed up with the Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen and photographed storms raging over California, eastern India, Thailand and Costa Rica from his position on the ISS. Pulsating blue “jets” of lightning travel upwards from the cloud’s top, shooting to altitudes of 40 km, well past where the clouds end. He hopes Thor’s success will open the door to further imaging of thunderstorms by astronauts during the European Space Agency’s Atmospheric-Space Interactions Monitor project.
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