Scientists recorded “heavy” lightning as thunderstorms swept through Oklahoma in May 2018. But it was not just any electricity.
Every time we think of this mighty force of nature, we imagine cracks of light dividing the sky, shooting massive amounts of lightning into the surrounding environment, which hit the ground every time. breaks in.
However, this bolt hit the stratosphere in the opposite direction, above the clouds, in a tremendous blue “jet” of lightning.
This lightning bolt was so powerful that it carried a charge 100 times more than the average hurricane bolt, reaching a distance of 80 kilometers in the air, very close to the official limit of outer space.
According to a press release from the University Space Research Association (USRA), while this was not the first observation of its kind, it turned out to be twice as powerful as the next. And even today they remain a mystery to scientists, in large part because of their rarity.
mapped for the first time
Now, giant supercharged lightning jets have been mapped for the first time in a study published in the journal science advance. According to lead author Levi Boggs, a scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, the researchers created a three-dimensional map of the Oklahoma jet.
The result gives us new details about this strange phenomenon, which should contribute to a better understanding of how and why it occurs.
“We were able to map this huge jet in three dimensions with very high quality data,” Boggs said. “We were able to see very high frequency (VHF) sources above the cloud tops that had not previously been observed with this level of detail. Using satellite and radar data, we were able to tell that the very hot leading The part was downloading over the cloud,” he said.
As the Oklahoma jet emerged from the cloud top, the researchers detected several very high frequency (VHF) radio sources at altitudes of 22–45 km, as well as simultaneous optical emissions near the cloud tops. 15-20 kms.
streamer and leader
This indicates that the VHF sources were produced by small structures at the tip of the lightning called streamers, 200 °C plasma strips, and that the discharge activity of the streamers can reach from the cloud tops all the way to the ionosphere, According to the study.
In addition to these small streamers, the strongest electric currents, according to the new observations, came from “leaders,” much hotter sections that can reach temperatures above 4,400 °C.
unsolved mysteries
Although the current study provides more insight into the structures of these giant jets, particularly above the cloud line, there is still much we do not know about the phenomenon.
We don’t know why the jet initially travels into space, when most of the rays are directed downward, or sideways. Researchers think there may be something stopping lightning from traveling down or into other clouds.
Although the Oklahoma hurricane was not the typical type associated with jets, as it occurred at high latitudes rather than in the tropics, and occurred at unusual times of year, it may provide a clue to the matter. Very few descending rays were observed before the release of the giant jet.
“For whatever reason, there is usually suppression of cloud-to-ground discharge,” Boggs explained.
“Negative charge builds up, and so we think that conditions at the top of a storm weaken the top layer of charge, which is usually positive. In the absence of the lightning discharge we typically see, giant jets can relieve buildup.” Extra negative charge in the cloud.”
Boggs and his colleagues are now investigating whether these rare events could affect the operation of satellites in low Earth orbit.
