Electric Earth: Stunning Images of Lightning
Stunning Lightning Strike
This gorgeous 20-second exposure of lightning striking the Bay Bridge in San Francisco went viral in April 2012.
Where Lightning Strikes Way More Than Twice
Clear skies rarely prevail at the mouth of the Catatumbo River in Venezuela. Here, it storms on average every other night, as moist, warm winds meet the nearby ridges of the Andes and explode into electrifying tempests. The lightning is so consistent that sailors have been known to navigate by its glow, which even reportedly saved the city of Maracaibo from attack by the English pirate Sir Francis Drake in 1595. According to a 1597 poem, the lightning illuminated Drake’s fleet, alerting the city to the pirate’s presence.
That's Space-y! Red Sprites & Lightning Flashes
Glowing sky phenomena can make for beautiful photos. This one, captured by Expedition 31 astronauts aboard the International Space Station on April 30, 2012, reveals a red sprite and lightning flash. The photo was taken while the ISS traveled southeast from central Myanmar (Burma) to just north of Malaysia.
Red sprites are difficult to observe because they last for just a few milliseconds and occur above thunderstorms, so they are usually blocked from view on the ground by the very clouds that produce them. They send pulses of electrical energy up toward the edge of space (the electrically charged layer known as the ionosphere) instead of down to Earth’s surface. They are rich with radio noise, and can sometimes occur in clusters.
For decades, pilots reported seeing ephemeral flashes above storms, but it was not until the 1990s that scientists were able to verify the existence of these electrical discharges. A sprite was first photographed by accident from an airplane in 1989, and observers on the space shuttle captured several more images with low-light cameras in 1990 and in subsequent missions. Viewers on the ground can occasionally photograph sprites by looking out on a thunderstorm in the distance (often looking out from high mountainsides over storms in lower plains.)
Red sprites are difficult to observe because they last for just a few milliseconds and occur above thunderstorms, so they are usually blocked from view on the ground by the very clouds that produce them. They send pulses of electrical energy up toward the edge of space (the electrically charged layer known as the ionosphere) instead of down to Earth’s surface. They are rich with radio noise, and can sometimes occur in clusters.
For decades, pilots reported seeing ephemeral flashes above storms, but it was not until the 1990s that scientists were able to verify the existence of these electrical discharges. A sprite was first photographed by accident from an airplane in 1989, and observers on the space shuttle captured several more images with low-light cameras in 1990 and in subsequent missions. Viewers on the ground can occasionally photograph sprites by looking out on a thunderstorm in the distance (often looking out from high mountainsides over storms in lower plains.)
Bolt of Lightning
Automobile lights seem to head in and out of a bolt of lightning in the northern Antelope Valley near Palmdale, California. The lightning ignited numerous small fires
Gigantic Flash
ntense cloud-to-ground lightning was caught using time-lapse photography during a nighttime thunderstorm.
Wonder of the Sky
Shown above are multiple cloud-to-ground and cloud-to-cloud lightning strokes, during a nighttime thunderstorm.
High Voltage
Thunderstorm and lightning takes place shortly after sundown.
]Lightning Strike
Lightning strikes over homes in Toronto, Canada.
Electric Discharge
Multiple cloud-to-ground lightning strokes are captured in this great lightning shot.
Perfect Aim
Lightning strikes a tower and outcomes a beautiful display of electric charge in the night sky.
Streaking Strokes
Fantastic display of lightning as it streaks through the evening skies.
View From Above
This photo captures cloud-to-ground lightning in stunning and dramatic form.
Through the Storm
This photo captures a lightning storm taking place over Boston in 1967
Touchdown on Earth
Time-lapse photography captures cloud-to-ground lightning during a nighttime thunderstorm in Norman, Oklahoma - home of the NSSL.
Fill the Sky
Multiple cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning strokes caught using time-lapse photography during a nighttime thunderstorm.
Dancing Machine
Time-lapse photography captures multiple cloud-to-ground lightning strokes during a nighttime thunderstorm.
Purple Skies
Lightning strikes over the purple city skies of Oklahoma.
Twin Strokes
What a treat! Cloud-to-ground lightning twin strokes are captured in this photograph.
Electrical Storm
A powerful electrical storm created an eerie tapestry of light in the skies, at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, near Complex 39A in the hours preceding the launch of STS-8.
Lightning over the Desert
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In this photo, taken on June 7, 2013, a furious thunderstorm rages over the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. This part of the Atacama Desert is home to the European Southern Observatory's Paranal Observatory. On average, this region experiences an astonishing number of clear days —roughly 330 days a year. Lightning over the observatory is rare, since it located in one of the driest places in the world.
Four VLT Unit Telescopes can be seen atop Cerro Paranal, which rises 8,530 feet (2,600 meters) above sea level. Each of these telescopes is the size of an eight-story building.
A solitary star, called Procyon, is also visible on the left of the image. This star is a bright binary star in the constellation of Canis Minor (The Lesser Dog).
Four VLT Unit Telescopes can be seen atop Cerro Paranal, which rises 8,530 feet (2,600 meters) above sea level. Each of these telescopes is the size of an eight-story building.
A solitary star, called Procyon, is also visible on the left of the image. This star is a bright binary star in the constellation of Canis Minor (The Lesser Dog).
Lightning Storm in Oregon
Photographer Steve Lenz captured this incredible lightning photo in northeast Oregon, outside the city of Milton-Freewater. The region is characterized by rolling hills, and treeless agriculture, he said. Lenz snapped this electrifying shot during a storm on July 20, 2012.
"I was out in the middle of this storm with lightning crashing all around(a few miles away) and excitedly taking photos," Lenz told LiveScience in an email. "This photo is the last one I got when my shutter broke. My heart sank. I put my equipment away and got in my car and then realized the lightning had gotten dangerously close. So I was somehow relieved my shutter had broken or I might have been in trouble."
Lenz used a Canon 5D mark1 camera and a Sigma 150-500 lens to capture the magnificent scene.
"I set the camera on a tripod and aimed it towards the windmills where there was a high concentration of lightning strikes," he said. "I set it at F5, ISO 100 and left the shutter open for about 30 seconds at a time hoping to catch strikes." [See More Stunning Images of Lightning]
"I was out in the middle of this storm with lightning crashing all around(a few miles away) and excitedly taking photos," Lenz told LiveScience in an email. "This photo is the last one I got when my shutter broke. My heart sank. I put my equipment away and got in my car and then realized the lightning had gotten dangerously close. So I was somehow relieved my shutter had broken or I might have been in trouble."
Lenz used a Canon 5D mark1 camera and a Sigma 150-500 lens to capture the magnificent scene.
"I set the camera on a tripod and aimed it towards the windmills where there was a high concentration of lightning strikes," he said. "I set it at F5, ISO 100 and left the shutter open for about 30 seconds at a time hoping to catch strikes." [See More Stunning Images of Lightning]
