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  2. Lightning - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

    Lightning also causes thunder, a sound from the shock wave which develops as heated gases in the vicinity of the discharge experience a sudden increase in pressure. The most common occurrence of a lightning event is known as a thunderstorm, though they can also commonly occur in other types of energetic weather systems, such as volcanic eruptions.

  3. Atmospheric electricity - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_electricity

    Atmospheric electricity is always present, and during fine weather away from thunderstorms, the air above the surface of Earth is positively charged, while the Earth's surface charge is negative. This can be understood in terms of a difference of potential between a point of the Earth's surface, and a point somewhere in the air above it.

  4. Upper-atmospheric lightning - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper-atmospheric_lightning

    Representation of upper-atmospheric lightning and electrical-discharge phenomena Discovery image of a TLE on Jupiter by the NASA Juno probe. [1]Upper-atmospheric lightning and ionospheric lightning are terms sometimes used by researchers to refer to a family of short-lived electrical-breakdown phenomena that occur well above the altitudes of normal lightning and storm clouds.

  5. Lightning strike - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning_strike

    A lightning strike or lightning bolt is a lightning event in which an electric discharge takes place between the atmosphere and the ground. Most originate in a cumulonimbus cloud and terminate on the ground, called cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning. A less common type of strike, ground-to-cloud (GC) lightning, is upward-propagating lightning ...

  6. List of light sources - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_light_sources

    This is a list of sources of light, the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum.Light sources produce photons from another energy source, such as heat, chemical reactions, or conversion of mass or a different frequency of electromagnetic energy, and include light bulbs and stars like the Sun. Reflectors (such as the moon, cat's eyes, and mirrors) do not actually produce the light that ...

  7. Sprite (lightning) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(lightning)

    A sprite over Southeast Asia as seen from space.. Sprites or red sprites are large-scale electric discharges that occur in the mesosphere, high above thunderstorm clouds, or cumulonimbus, giving rise to a varied range of visual shapes flickering in the night sky.

  8. Atmospheric refraction - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_refraction

    Diagram showing displacement of the Sun's image at sunrise and sunset Comparison of inferior and superior mirages due to differing air refractive indices, n. Atmospheric refraction is the deviation of light or other electromagnetic wave from a straight line as it passes through the atmosphere due to the variation in air density as a function of height. [1]

  9. Solar radio emission - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_radio_emission

    The most dramatic impacts to solar radio emission occur in the corona and in Earth's ionosphere. There are three primary effects: refraction, scattering, and mode coupling. Refraction is the bending of light's path as it enters a new medium or passes through a material with varying density. The density of the corona generally decreases with ...