Open AccessCatching lightning
Author(s) -
Showstack Randy
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/eo083i006p00054-03
Subject(s) - lightning (connector) , meteorology , longitude , lightning strike , satellite , space science , aeronautics , space (punctuation) , upper atmospheric lightning , latitude , geography , computer science , aerospace engineering , engineering , thunderstorm , physics , geodesy , power (physics) , quantum mechanics , operating system
Before 1995, researchers working with ground‐based lightning detectors had an approximate understanding of global lightning patterns. But with two recent satellite‐based optical sensors, NASA scientists are learning more about exactly where lightning strikes. “For the first time, we have been able to map the global distribution of lightning, noting its variation as a function of latitude, longitude, and time of year,” said Hugh Christian, a scientist with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and project leader for the lightning team at the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC) in Huntsville.