Jupiter is famous for its enormous storms, some of which have been raging for centuries. Now, scientists have discovered that these massive tempests can also generate lightning far more powerful than anything typically seen on Earth.
Using data from NASA's Juno spacecraft, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley found that some lightning flashes on Jupiter may be 100 times stronger than lightning on Earth, and possibly even more intense.
The findings come from Juno's microwave radiometer, an instrument that has been studying Jupiter's atmosphere since the spacecraft entered orbit around the giant planet in 2016. The instrument can detect radio emissions produced by lightning, similar to the radio interference created by storms on Earth. Microwaves occupy the high-frequency end of the radio spectrum.
The study was published in the journal AGU Advances.
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