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Relampago del Catatumbo is considered the "most electric" spot on Earth.
science

5 of Our Favorite Podcast Episodes Celebrating Earth's Natural Wonders

From everlasting lightning storms to magnificent bioluminescence, these classic episodes will delight and intrigue you.
The Podcast Team January 5, 2024
Scientists track the "ghosts" of the upper atmosphere.
ghosts

Scientists Finally Find Mysterious Mesospheric Ghosts

The midwest is particularly filled with them.
Olivia Young December 20, 2023
Framingham, Massachusetts

Graves of John Cloyce & Abraham Rice

In 1777, two men were killed after being struck by lightning at the same time.
Rundle Lantern
Adelaide, Australia

Rundle Lantern

An iconic work of public art that lights up the downtown area.
Findling vom Geissturm
Zurich, Switzerland

Findling vom Geissturm

This massive boulder was hurled into a Zurich church when a gunpowder depot was struck by lightning in 1652.
weird weather phenomena

Podcast: Relampago del Catatumbo

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team January 17, 2022
De Brandgrens (The Blaze Boundary)
Rotterdam, Netherlands

De Brandgrens (The Blaze Boundary)

These lights mark the area of Rotterdam that was bombed and burned in 1940.
This lightning flash with an upward branch, observed south of Langmuir Laboratory, helped researchers understand the mechanisms by which lightning can escape clouds.
science

Can America’s Premier Lightning Lab Revive Its Renegade Spirit?

“We want to continue triggering lightning. We’re in no way done with that.”
Elizabeth Miller September 9, 2020
When red sprites, pictured here above Nebraska, are accompanied by a diffuse, dome-shaped glow, it can look like a jellyfish is hovering in the sky.
science

The Electrifying Science of Jellyfish Sprites, Explained

Here's why it sometimes looks like red tentacles are dangling in the sky.
Jessica Leigh Hester August 25, 2020
Side of church.
Athens, Greece

Church of Agios Dimitrios Loumbardiaris (Saint Demetrius the Bombardier)

A Byzantine-era church hidden in a wooded area below the Acropolis.
Stromboli emits yet another tiny gurgle of lava.
islands

This Erupting Italian Peak Is a Hotspot for Studying Volcanic Lightning

Though not much to see, Mount Stromboli is a scientist’s dream.
Sabrina Imbler March 29, 2019
Video • PinDrop

Venezuela's Everlasting Lightning Storm

1:40
Actual lightning is more complex than what usually appears on canvas.
paintings

Why Is It So Hard to Paint Lightning?

Capturing lightning on a canvas is just as difficult as it sounds.
Jessica Leigh Hester June 8, 2018
Egypt and Antartica are lightning-free zone areas, but not so much North America.
maps

The Least Likely Places to Be Struck by Lightning, Mapped

Where to go if you don't enjoy sudden electric bolts from the sky.
Christina Ayele Djossa May 29, 2018
Exterior of James Turrell Skyspace
Seattle, Washington

James Turrell Skyspace

An enclosed rotunda at the Henry Art Gallery in which viewers can look up and see the uninterrupted sky.
An astronaut on board the International Space Station was on the lookout for thunderstorms.
lightning

Cracking the Mystery of the Atmosphere's Dazzling Red and Blue 'Lightning'

Sprites, elves, and jets look like special effects, but they're electrical discharges.
Jessica Leigh Hester April 9, 2018
The eruption of Bogoslof, in a satellite image. The ash plume rose 40,000 feet above sea level.
volcanoes

Prepare Yourself for the Sound of Volcanic Thunder!

The first-ever recording of the phenomenon sounds a little like a typewriter.
Jessica Leigh Hester March 16, 2018
The world's largest air-insulated Van de Graaff generator demonstrates the power of electricity.
Boston, Massachusetts

World's Largest Air-Insulated Van de Graaff Generator

The massive machine creates cracking displays of indoor lightning.