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Stealth superstorms reveal lightning on Jupiter: Beyond the superbolt
- March 23, 2026 at 8:20 PM
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Jupiter's lightning has long been of interest to planetary scientists, as it marks stormy spots where researchers can look to learn more about convection in Jupiter's atmosphere. Observing lightning from a distance can be tricky, so scientists have focused on the bolts that are easiest to study: strong flashes that strike at night. As a result, some studies have concluded that lightning bolts on Jupiter are all similar to the strongest lightning on Earth, known as "superbolts." This conclusion was recently questioned, however, when the high-sensitivity star tracker camera on NASA's Juno spacecraft detected faint, shallow lightning.
Originally published at Phys.org