Polar lightning - not just an earthly phenomenon: study

0 Comments | AFP, October, 2007

CHICAGO (AFP) — Images from a NASA probe have shown that lightning does occur at the poles on Jupiter, a phenomenon previously only seen on Earth, a study released Tuesday said.

Lightning strikes had previously been observed at lower latitudes and around the equator on the gas planet but the jagged bolts of electricity had never been observed at either of its two poles, puzzling astronomers.

But as it rocketed past Jupiter on its way to Pluto in March this year, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft snapped hundreds of images of the Jupiter system, yielding dazzling new data and previously unseen glimpses of the planet.

Images taken by the probe's Long Range Reconnaisance Imager revealed six flashes of light in the north polar region and seven in the south.

...