A terrestrial gamma-ray flash and ionospheric ultraviolet emissions powered by lightning

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. eaax3872 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torsten Neubert ◽  
Nikolai Østgaard ◽  
Victor Reglero ◽  
Olivier Chanrion ◽  
Matthias Heumesser ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electric Fields ◽  
Electromagnetic Waves ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Space Station ◽  
Lower Ionosphere ◽  
High Amplitude ◽  
Lightning Flash ◽  
Lightning Current ◽  
Ultraviolet Emissions

Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) are transient gamma-ray emissions from thunderstorms, generated by electrons accelerated to relativistic energies in electric fields. Elves are ultraviolet and optical emissions excited in the lower ionosphere by electromagnetic waves radiated from lightning current pulses. We observe a TGF and an associated Elve using the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor on the International Space Station. The TGF occurs at the onset of a lightning current pulse that generates an Elve, in the early stage of a lightning flash. Our measurements suggest that the current onset is fast and has a high amplitude, a prerequisite for Elves, and that the TGF is generated in the electric fields associated with the lightning leader.

Source Altitudes of Optical Emissions Associated with TGFs

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Heumesser ◽  
Olivier Chanrion ◽  
Torsten Neubert ◽  
Krystallia Dimitriadou ◽  
Christoph Köhn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Pulse ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Space Station ◽  
Optical Path ◽  
Optical Analysis ◽  
Cloud Properties ◽  
Lightning Current ◽  
Optical Paths ◽  
Imaging Sensor ◽  
Narrow Bands

<p>Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes (TGFs) observed from space appear to be generated after a few milliseconds of optical activity and before the onset of a main optical pulse. The pre-activity is thought to be from a propagating leader and the main optical pulse the emissions from the ensuing stroke. Scattering of photons in the cloud increases the rise time and durations of the pulses and thus allows for estimates of their optical path from their sources.</p><p>In this presentation we estimate the depth inside thunderclouds of pulses associated with more than 100 TGFs observed by the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) on the International Space Station (ISS). The observations are in narrow bands at 337 nm, to include the strongest line of N<sub>2</sub>2P and 777.4 nm of OI, considered a strong lightning emission line. With the assumption that the sources are instantaneous and at single points within a cloud, we find optical paths for the events by using typical cloud properties. Combined with cloud top heights from a recent study on TGF producing thunderstorms, this gives an estimate at which altitude the optical detections are produced.</p><p>Data from VAISALA’s lightning location network GLD360 and NASA’s Lightning Imaging Sensor on the ISS (ISS-LIS) will be used to assess the results from the optical analysis. This includes investigations of the correlations between TGF durations, detected peak lightning current and optical path in the cloud.</p>

scholarly journals The Impact of Spaceflight and Microgravity on the Human Islet-1+ Cardiovascular Progenitor Cell Transcriptome

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (7) ◽  
pp. 3577
Author(s):  
Victor Camberos ◽  
Jonathan Baio ◽  
Ana Mandujano ◽  
Aida F. Martinez ◽  
Leonard Bailey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Stage ◽  
Space Station ◽  
Cardiovascular Development ◽  
Support Cell ◽  
Cell Transcriptome ◽  
Islet 1 ◽  
Life On Earth ◽  
The Impact ◽  
And Oxidative Stress ◽  
Insight Into

Understanding the transcriptomic impact of microgravity and the spaceflight environment is relevant for future missions in space and microgravity-based applications designed to benefit life on Earth. Here, we investigated the transcriptome of adult and neonatal cardiovascular progenitors following culture aboard the International Space Station for 30 days and compared it to the transcriptome of clonally identical cells cultured on Earth. Cardiovascular progenitors acquire a gene expression profile representative of an early-stage, dedifferentiated, stem-like state, regardless of age. Signaling pathways that support cell proliferation and survival were induced by spaceflight along with transcripts related to cell cycle re-entry, cardiovascular development, and oxidative stress. These findings contribute new insight into the multifaceted influence of reduced gravitational environments.

MUTUAL NONLINEAR INTERACTION OF A NUMBER OF ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES IN A PLASMA

1963 ◽  
Vol 41 (10) ◽  
pp. 1702-1711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahendra Singh Sodha ◽  
Carl J. Palumbo
Keyword(s):  
Wave Equation ◽  
Electric Fields ◽  
Current Density ◽  
Nonlinear Interaction ◽  
Electromagnetic Waves ◽  
Physical Significance ◽  
Mutual Interaction ◽  
Modulated Waves ◽  
Boltzmann's Equation ◽  
Uniform Plasma

In this communication the authors have obtained an expression for current density in a slightly ionized uniform plasma in the presence of a number of electric fields of different frequencies by solving the appropriate Boltzmann's equation. This expression along with the wave equation has been used to investigate the nonlinear mutual interaction of a number of electromagnetic waves, propagating in a plasma. Limitations of the present analysis have also been indicated and the physical significance of the results has been discussed. The technique has also been applied to investigate the mutual interaction of amplitude-modulated waves, and the results express a generalization of Luxembourg effect to a number of strong modulated waves.

ASIM TGFs associated with high peak current strokes

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrey Mezentsev ◽  
Nikolai Østgaard ◽  
Torsten Neubert ◽  
Victor Reglero
Keyword(s):  
International Space Station ◽  
Short Duration ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Space Station ◽  
High Peak ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Peak Current ◽  
International Space ◽  
Lightning Discharges

<p>The Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) has been installed on board of the International Space Station in April 2018, successfully providing science data for 2.5 years. The Modular X- and Gamma-ray Sensor (MXGS) of ASIM is designed to detect Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) (short intense bursts of gamma-ray photons), produced during the initial breakdown phase of the +IC lightning discharges.</p><p> </p><p>In this contribution we report and summarize the results on the ASIM TFGs associated with high peak current lightning detections (detected by GLD and WWLLN networks). High peak current detections tend to be associated with short duration TGFs and do not exhibit a tendency to correlate with the fluence of the TGF.</p>

scholarly journals Whistler intensities above thunderstorms

2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Fiser ◽  
J. Chum ◽  
G. Diendorfer ◽  
M. Parrot ◽  
O. Santolik
Keyword(s):  
Background Noise ◽  
Electromagnetic Waves ◽  
Horizontal Distance ◽  
Average Amplitude ◽  
Oblique Propagation ◽  
Lightning Current ◽  
Processing Data ◽  
Demeter Satellite ◽  
Late Evening ◽  
The Mean

Abstract. We report a study of penetration of the VLF electromagnetic waves induced by lightning to the ionosphere. We compare the fractional hop whistlers recorded by the ICE experiment onboard the DEMETER satellite with lightning detected by the EUCLID detection network. To identify the fractional hop whistlers, we have developed software for automatic detection of the fractional-hop whistlers in the VLF spectrograms. This software provides the detection times of the fractional hop whistlers and the average amplitudes of these whistlers. Matching the lightning and whistler data, we find the pairs of causative lightning and corresponding whistler. Processing data from ~200 DEMETER passes over the European region we obtain a map of mean amplitudes of whistler electric field as a function of latitudinal and longitudinal difference between the location of the causative lightning and satellite magnetic footprint. We find that mean whistler amplitude monotonically decreases with horizontal distance up to ~1000 km from the lightning source. At larger distances, the mean whistler amplitude usually merges into the background noise and the whistlers become undetectable. The maximum of whistler intensities is shifted from the satellite magnetic footprint ~1° owing to the oblique propagation. The average amplitude of whistlers increases with the lightning current. At nighttime (late evening), the average amplitude of whistlers is about three times higher than during the daytime (late morning) for the same lightning current.

scholarly journals Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM): State of the Art

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 303-306
Author(s):  
Pere Blay ◽  
Lola Sabau-Graziati ◽  
Víctor Reglero ◽  
Paul H. Connell ◽  
Juana M. Rodrigo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
International Space Station ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Space Station ◽  
Upper Atmosphere ◽  
International Space ◽  
Severe Thunderstorms

Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) mission is an ESA pay load which will be installed in the Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS). ASIM is optimized to the observation and monitoring of luminescent phenomena in the upper atmosphere, the so called Transient Luminous Event (TLEs) and Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes(TGFs). Both TLEs and TGFs have been discovered recently (past two decades) and opened a new field of research in high energetic phenomena in the atmosphere. We will review the capabilities of ASIM and how it will help researchers to gain deeper knowledge of TGFs, TLEs, their inter-relationship and how they are linked to severe thunderstorms and the phenomena of lightning.

scholarly journals An X-Ray All Sky Monitor for a Japanese Experimental Module on the Space Station

1990 ◽  
Vol 123 ◽  
pp. 463-468
Author(s):  
M. Matsuoka ◽  
N. Kawai ◽  
T. Imai ◽  
M. Yamauchi ◽  
A. Yoshida ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Space Station ◽  
Transient Phenomena ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Sky Monitor ◽  
Image Position ◽  
Japanese Experimental Module

AbstractWe propose an X-ray all sky monitor for Japanese Experimental Module (JEM) on the space station. Considering practical circumstances, we show as a case study that the all sky monitor with slit hole cameras is most promising for monitoring the short-term and long-term X-ray transients. We call this all sky monitor as MAXI (Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image). Position determination of gamma-ray bursts could be achieved with accuracy less than one degree observing the X-ray component of the burst. Weak X-ray sources such as active galactic nuclei could be also monitored with time resolution less than one day. The X-ray all sky monitor will work to discover X-ray novae and transient phenomena and give us the alarm for further detailed observations. The obtained data will be also used for archival study.

scholarly journals Upgrade of the YerPhI polarization Lidar System for using Polarization of the Elastic and Raman Backscattered Beams

2019 ◽  
Vol 197 ◽  
pp. 03005
Author(s):  
A. Ghalumyan ◽  
K. Apresyan ◽  
A. Chilingaryan ◽  
V. Ghazaryan
Keyword(s):  
Electric Fields ◽  
Gamma Ray ◽  
Beam Polarization ◽  
Lidar System ◽  
Density Profiles ◽  
Electrical Fields ◽  
Polarized Beams ◽  
Electrical State ◽  
Atmospheric Backscatter ◽  
Telescope System

A powerful two-frequency lidar system using polarized beams has been developed at YerPhI. The system is completed with laser beam polarization changers and nitrogen and water Raman channels for investigation of the influence of atmospheric electric fields on the elastic and Raman backscattered beams polarization. At present, the system is being tuned for measuring vertical atmospheric backscatter profiles of aerosols and hydrometeors, analyze the depolarization ratio of elastic backscattered laser beams and investigate the influence of external factors on the beam polarization. Laser light that is reflected from the air and from clouds carries information on density profiles, aerosols and electrical fields. Applications of this system will be the investigation of the electrical state of the atmosphere during thunderstorms [1-3] on Mt Aragats, and, possibly the monitoring of the atmosphere at the site of the upcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). CTA is expected to provide unprecedented sensitivity for gamma ray detection in the energy range of 30 GeV to 300 TeV. To fully exploit the potential of the telescope system it is important to characterize the optical and electrical properties of the atmosphere. A lidar system for the continuous monitoring of the atmosphere is the tool of choice.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document