Space & Astronomy

Bursts of light detected in Earth's atmosphere

By T.K. Randall
February 12, 2019

Image Credit: (PD) NASA via Wikimedia Commons The unusual phenomenon was picked up by the Lomonosov satellite (named after Russian scientist Mikhailo Lomonosov) which monitors the atmosphere for high-energy cosmic rays.

What makes these bursts of light particular unusual is the fact that, unlike most luminous flashes which occur in the midst of weather events, these seem to be occurring where the skies are totally clear.

"With the help of the telescope, we have obtained even more important results than we expected," said Mikhail Panasyuk, director of Moscow State University's Research Institute of Nuclear Physics."It looks like we have encountered new physical phenomena. We do not yet know their physical nature. For example, during Lomonosov's flight at an altitude of several dozen kilometers, we have registered several times a very powerful 'explosion' of light."

"But everything was clear underneath it, no storms, no clouds."

Scientists are now working to determine exactly what these peculiar light bursts might be.

Source: Russia Today

Tags: Light Explosions