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Last October 10, 2018, 20:01. Lightning flashed in a thundercloud that occurred east of Sulawesi, Indonesia. At the time, the International Space Station ISS was passing right above it and was equipped with a complete set of equipment to observe the lightning flashes of gamma rays. At the time, the storm was radiating a ring of ultraviolet and visible rays on the top layer of the atmosphere at the same time.
According to the observations, it is the first attempt to simultaneously identify the visible light component of TGF (Terrestrial gamma-ray flash) and the upper atmospheric lightning Elve, an atmospheric optical phenomenon related to thunderstorms. These observations provide a lot of evidence for the relationship between the radiation caused by lightning and storms, and electromagnetic phenomena in the upper atmosphere, while raising more curiosity about the natural radiation produced by the climate.
The research team explains that the storms in the lowest layer of the atmosphere are also affecting the boundary between Earth and space at an altitude of 100 km. The strong electric field in thunderstorms has the ability to accelerate particles like accelerators used by physicists. These accelerating particles runaway in the clouds and cause a chain reaction to emit high-energy flashes called gamma rays, and the result is TGF.
On the other hand, the occurrence of Elve. Elves generate light by stimulating particles that reach the ionosphere created by high amplitude electromagnetic pulses.
The research team also observed the region where the plasma generated by the thundercloud connects to the opposite charge region in the thundercloud, that is, the start of lightning. It also confirmed that the light signal and ultraviolet emission start with TGF, which is only 30 to 40 microseconds. The lightning then generates a current pulse and moves upwards, firing the elves. The team stipulated that TGF was produced, which was generated by lightning in the cloud, generating electromagnetic pulses, resulting in elves.
The research team conducted observations using a device called Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) mounted on the ISS. It is equipped with an X-ray and gamma ray detector, an ultraviolet ray and visible ray detector, and two visible ray cameras. The ASIM data includes data with ground sensors (World Wide Lightning Location Network) that monitor lightning storms around the world.
Experts explain that the study reveals the relationship between lightning, TGF, and Elves. It is said that in the future, efforts to understand the mystery that cause the phenomenon related to lightning will continue. Related information can be found here .
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