                        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.

                              2021 September 29

                   Gigantic Jet Lightning from Puerto Rico
                  Video Credit & Copyright: Frankie Lucena

   Explanation: Have you ever seen a gigantic jet? They are extremely rare
   but tremendously powerful. Gigantic jets are a type of lightning
   discharge documented only this century that occur between some
   thunderstorms and the Earth's ionosphere high above them. Pictured
   above is the middle and top of one such jet caught last week by a
   lightning and meteor camera from Puerto Rico, USA. The jet traversed
   perhaps 70 kilometers in just under one second. Gigantic jets are much
   different from regular cloud-to-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning.
   The bottoms of gigantic jets appear similar in appearance to another
   type cloud-to-above strike called blue jets, while the tops appear
   similar to upper-atmosphere red sprites. Although the mechanism and
   trigger that causes gigantic jets is a topic of research, it is clear
   that the jets reduce charge imbalance between different parts of
   Earth's atmosphere. A good way to look for gigantic jets is to watch a
   powerful but distant thunderstorm from a clear location.

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