Cosmic rays may offer an out-of-this-world answer to a long-standing mystery about lightning on Earth, a new study suggests. Thunderstorms are exceedingly common; a staggering 3 million lightning ...

Scientists have revealed a hidden trigger of lightning that could resolve a centuries-old weather mystery.. Earth is struck by some 44 bolts of lightning each second, on average. Despite this ...

May 06, 2015 Cosmic rays may direct the pathways of lightning Researchers find new clues about the nature of lightning ...

So, does all this add up to cosmic rays as the cause of lightning? No one can be sure at present. Some researchers, including myself, have voiced skepticism about this mechanism, due to a few ...

In such energetic surroundings, cosmic rays 10,000 to 100,000 times less energetic than thought could generate the cascades of electrons needed for lightning. Such cosmic rays hit Earth about as ...

Cosmic rays constantly pelt the planet. Occasionally they strike atoms in the atmosphere and generate a cascade of new particles. LOFAR, an observatory based in the Netherlands, tracks these ...

IN order to explain the curious behaviour of lightning flashes the possibility should be kept in mind of a connexion between a lightning discharge and the cosmic rays. When penetrating particles ...

A rainstorm gathers over the Los Alamos National Laboratory campus. Photo Courtesy LANL BY XUAN-MIN SHAOLos Alamos National ...

Get Instant Summarized Text (Gist) Cosmic-ray showers, consisting of high-energy particles from space, appear to play a significant role in triggering lightning flashes.

Cosmic rays may play a role in triggering lightning, a new study suggests, offering an out-of-this-world answer to a long-standing mystery.

Cosmic rays may offer an out-of-this-world answer to a long-standing mystery about lightning on Earth, a new study suggests. Thunderstorms are exceedingly common; a staggering 3 million lightning ...