LOS ANGELES (AP) — Researchers for the first time have captured X-ray images of lightning, a feat that they hope will help them better predict how lightning moves.
A team from the Florida Institute of Technology and University of Florida launched small rockets into thunderclouds during the summer. Using a special camera, the researchers recorded X-rays coming from the resulting light flashes before they hit the ground.
The scientists presented their work Tuesday at the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco.
Scientists have known that lightning emits X-rays, but they don’t fully understand it.