November 10, 1995
Long before your first heartbeat, stars were busy forging the elements you would one day call your own.
Lightning and the Space Shuttle
Birthday · November 10, 1995
A little universe, just for you
Your date.
Ready to give.
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APOD published November 10, 1995. Full image credits are on the original APOD entry below. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
There are many things about lightning that are not understood. Lightning has been seen in the atmospheres of Venus, Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn. A leading theory is that collisions of particles in clouds cause large areas of positive and negative charge. When large oppositely charged areas get close enough together, electrons and/or ions race between them and create a path where more charged particles can follow - lightning. On average, over 100 lightning strikes occur every second over the surface of the Earth. Here lightning strikes near a Space Shuttle before launch. Lightning can be extremely dangerous - stay out of open areas during thunderstorms.