Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]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.

                                2024 June 18
     [2]A landscape showing a night sky over distant mountains is shown.
     Lakes dot the foreground in front of the mountains. Extending from
    above the mountains into the night sky are six bright jets. The jets
   are violet at the bottom but red at the top. Please see the explanation
                       for more detailed information.

                   Gigantic Jets over Himalayan Mountains
                   Image Credit & Copyright: [3]Li Xuanhua

   Explanation: Yes, but can your thunderstorm do this? Pictured here are
   [4]gigantic jets shooting up from a thunderstorm last week toward the
   [5]Himalayan Mountains in [6]China and [7]Bhutan. The composite image
   captured four long jets that occurred only minutes apart. [8]Gigantic
   jets, documented only in this century, are a type of lightning
   discharge that occurs between some [9]thunderstorms and the Earth's
   [10]ionosphere high above them. [11]They are an unusual type of
   lightning that is much different from regular cloud-to-cloud and
   [12]cloud-to-ground lightning. The bottoms of [13]gigantic jets appear
   similar to a [14]cloud-to-above strike called [15]blue jets, while the
   tops appear similar to [16]upper-atmosphere [17]red sprites. Although
   the mechanism and [18]trigger that cause gigantic jets remains a
   [19]topic of research, it is clear that the jets reduce charge
   imbalance between different parts of [20]Earth's atmosphere. A good way
   to look for [21]gigantic jets is to watch a powerful but [22]distant
   thunderstorm from a clear location.

                      Tomorrow's picture: dragon fight
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [34]Robert Nemiroff ([35]MTU) & [36]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([37]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Amber Straughn [38]Specific rights apply.
            [39]NASA Web Privacy, [40]Accessibility, [41]Notices;
                A service of: [42]ASD at [43]NASA / [44]GSFC,
                         [45]NASA Science Activation
                           & [46]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2406/GiganticJets_Xuanhua_2048.jpg
   3. mailto: 1161495687 at qq dot com
   4. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190918.html
   5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayas
   6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
   7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutan
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper-atmospheric_lightning#Gigantic_jets
   9. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap191204.html
  10. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/10-things-to-know-about-the-ionosphere/
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap160823.html
  12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210524.html
  13. https://www.realclearscience.com/quick_and_clear_science/2019/01/08/what_causes_earths_rare_and_mysterious_gigantic_jets.html
  14. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147900/bolts-of-blue
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper-atmospheric_lightning#Blue_jets
  16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper-atmospheric_lightning
  17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210104.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap060814.html
  19. https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:2400/1*Bp1dNLfyDjH2QCgALi-BrQ.jpeg
  20. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/atmosphere/en/
  21. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005AGUFMAE11A..02F/abstract
  22. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap131110.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240617.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  29. https://apod.com/feed.rss
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  32. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=240618
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240619.html
  34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  36. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  37. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  40. https://www.nasa.gov/general/accessibility/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/privacy/
  42. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  43. https://www.nasa.gov/
  44. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  45. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  46. http://www.mtu.edu/