            APOD: 2018 May 13 - Sakurajima Volcano with Lightning

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                                  2018 May 13
                                      [2]
                      Sakurajima Volcano with Lightning
 Image Credit & Copyright: Martin Rietze [3] (Alien Landscapes on Planet Earth
                                    [4] )

Explanation: Why does a volcanic eruption sometimes create lightning? Pictured
above, the Sakurajima volcano [5] in southern Japan [6] was caught erupting in
2013 January. Magma bubbles [7]  so hot they glowed [8]  shot away as liquid
rock burst [9] through the Earth's surface from below. The featured image [10]
is particularly notable, however, for the lightning [11]  bolts caught near
the volcano's summit [12] . Why lightning [13] occurs even in common
thunderstorms remains a topic of research, and the cause of volcanic lightning
[14] is even less clear. Surely, lightning bolts [15] help quench areas of
opposite but separated electric charges. Volcanic lightning [16]  episodes may
be facilitated by charge-inducing collisions in volcanic dust. Lightning [17]
is usually occurring somewhere on Earth [18] , typically over 40 times each
second.

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                                    [22]
                    Tomorrow's picture: jupiter whirl [23]

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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1805/volcano_reitze_1280.jpg
  [3] mailto: mrietze at t-online.de
  [4] http://www.mrietze.com/
  [5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakurajima
  [6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan
  [7] ap051002.html
  [8] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incandescence
  [9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_eruption
  [10] http://www.mrietze.com/web13/japan13.htm
  [11] https://ghrc.nsstc.nasa.gov/lightning/lightning_primer.html
  [12] ap140420.html
  [13] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning
  [14] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gW-Txy8pmc
  [15] ap080705.html
  [16] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dirty_thunderstorm
  [17] https://geology.com/articles/lightning-map.shtml
  [18] https://www.lightningmaps.org/
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  [20] https://plus.google.com/u/1/+AstronomyPictureOfTheDay
  [21] https://www.instagram.com/astronomypicturesdaily/
  [22] http://twitter.com/apod/
  [23] ap180514.html
  [24] ap180512.html
  [25] archivepix.html
  [26] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [27] lib/aptree.html
  [28] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  [29] calendar/allyears.html
  [30] /apod.rss
  [31] lib/edlinks.html
  [32] lib/about_apod.html
  [33] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=180513
  [34] ap180514.html
  [35] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [36] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [37] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  [38] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [39] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [40] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  [41] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [42] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [43] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
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