APOD: Lightning over the Volcano of Water (2019 Jul 29)

[APOD Robot]

Lightning over the Volcano of Water

Explanation: Have you ever watched a lightning storm in awe? Join the crowd. Details of what causes lightning are still being researched, but it is known that inside some clouds, internal updrafts cause collisions between ice and snow that slowly separate charges between cloud tops and bottoms The rapid electrical discharges that are lightning soon result. Lightning usually takes a jagged course, rapidly heating a thin column of air to about three times the surface temperature of the Sun. The resulting shock wave starts supersonically and decays into the loud sound known as thunder. On average, around the world, about 6,000 lightning bolts occur between clouds and the Earth every minute. Pictured earlier this month in a two-image composite, lightning stems from communication antennas near the top of Volcán de Agua (Volcano of Water) in Guatemala.

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[De58te]

Maybe I'm wrong, but wouldn't a volcano of water be called a geyser?

[orin stepanek]

Maybe I'm wrong, but wouldn't a volcano of water be called a geyser?

I believe it is the name of the Mountain!

[Scabulus]

What does any of this have to do with space? Is there a connection to the science of lightening that relates to planetary exploration? If so, then say so. If not, then post on Instagram or flickr.

[Chris Peterson]

What does any of this have to do with space? Is there a connection to the science of lightening that relates to planetary exploration? If so, then say so. If not, then post on Instagram or flickr.

Lightning is an atmospheric phenomenon, which has been observed to occur not just on Earth, but on other planets as well. We are fortunate to be able to observe it here, much more conveniently than on those other planets.

[BDanielMayfield]

Maybe I'm wrong, but wouldn't a volcano of water be called a geyser?

I believe it is the name of the Mountain!

Yes. The link to its name tells that is came to be called that after a lahar (volcanic mudslide) flooded a nearby city.

[hypatia]

Can anybody tell me what the turquoise cylindrical object to the right of the volcano is (peeking out of the cloud)? Could it be a UFO?

[BDanielMayfield]

Can anybody tell me what the turquoise cylindrical object to the right of the volcano is (peeking out of the cloud)? Could it be a UFO?

It is a gap underneath the cloud deck showing a small area of dusk or dawn sky. No need to suspect aliens.

[orin stepanek]

What does any of this have to do with space? Is there a connection to the science of lightening that relates to planetary exploration? If so, then say so. If not, then post on Instagram or flickr.

Lightning is an atmospheric phenomenon, which has been observed to occur not just on Earth, but on other planets as well. We are fortunate to be able to observe it here, much more conveniently than on those other planets.

++

[MarkBour]

What a fantastic image! That is an incredible, arborescent bolt. Also, there is a filament to the left of the main branches that does not visibly connect to the rest, and a visibly separate, but probably connected beautiful, long extension to the right. Zeus could not have done this without a few helpers! Who was it, I wonder, that managed to draw the wrath of several deities at once? I'm really glad I was not at the top of that volcano just then. But I'm glad that Sergio Montufar was able to capture this, and that the APOD editors brought it to us for our viewing pleasure.

I see a predictable "Not astronomical" complaint, so here's an astronomy question for those. What (and where and when) was the strongest electrostatic discharge event ever registered in our observations of the universe to date?

[geckzilla]

What does any of this have to do with space? Is there a connection to the science of lightening that relates to planetary exploration? If so, then say so. If not, then post on Instagram or flickr.

The reason these get posted is because they attract more people from different backgrounds to APOD, who will then hopefully become subsequently attracted to astronomy, which is the purpose of APOD. So to you, this has no purpose, but to the APOD editor who put it up, that was the purpose. Maybe understanding it better will change your mind.

[neufer]

What does any of this have to do with space? Is there a connection to the science of lightening that relates to planetary exploration? If so, then say so. If not, then post on Instagram or flickr.

The reason these get posted is because they attract more people from different backgrounds to APOD, who will then hopefully become subsequently attracted to astronomy, which is the purpose of APOD. So to you, this has no purpose, but to the APOD editor who put it up, that was the purpose. Maybe understanding it better will change your mind.

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