Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2019 July 29

                     Lightning over the Volcano of Water
      Image Credit & Copyright: Sergio Montúfar (Pinceladas Nocturnas)

   Explanation: Have you ever watched a lightning storm in awe? Join the
   crowd. Details of what causes lightning are still being researched, but
   it is known that inside some clouds, internal updrafts cause collisions
   between ice and snow that slowly separate charges between cloud tops
   and bottoms The rapid electrical discharges that are lightning soon
   result. Lightning usually takes a jagged course, rapidly heating a thin
   column of air to about three times the surface temperature of the Sun.
   The resulting shock wave starts supersonically and decays into the loud
   sound known as thunder. On average, around the world, about 6,000
   lightning bolts occur between clouds and the Earth every minute.
   Pictured earlier this month in a two-image composite, lightning stems
   from communication antennas near the top of Volcán de Agua (Volcano of
   Water) in Guatemala.

                  Tomorrow's picture: flying without stars
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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