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APOD: Lightning over the Volcano of Water (2019 Jul 29)
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 4:06 am
by APOD Robot
Lightning over the Volcano of Water
Explanation: Have you ever watched a lightning storm in awe? Join the crowd. Details of what causes
lightning are still
being researched, but it is known that inside some clouds, internal updrafts cause collisions between ice and
snow that slowly
separate charges between cloud tops and bottoms The
rapid electrical discharges that are
lightning soon result.
Lightning usually takes a jagged course,
rapidly heating a thin column of air to about three times the surface temperature of the
Sun. The resulting
shock wave starts
supersonically and decays into the
loud sound known as
thunder. On average, around the world, about
6,000 lightning bolts occur between clouds and the
Earth every minute.
Pictured earlier this month in a two-image composite, lightning stems from communication antennas near the top of
Volcán de Agua (Volcano of Water) in
Guatemala.
Re: APOD: Lightning over the Volcano of Water (2019 Jul 29)
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 7:06 am
by De58te
Maybe I'm wrong, but wouldn't a volcano of water be called a geyser?
Re: APOD: Lightning over the Volcano of Water (2019 Jul 29)
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 11:19 am
by orin stepanek
De58te wrote: ↑Mon Jul 29, 2019 7:06 am
Maybe I'm wrong, but wouldn't a volcano of water be called a geyser?
I believe it is the name of the Mountain!
Re: APOD: Lightning over the Volcano of Water (2019 Jul 29)
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 12:17 pm
by Scabulus
What does any of this have to do with space? Is there a connection to the science of lightening that relates to planetary exploration? If so, then say so. If not, then post on Instagram or flickr.
Re: APOD: Lightning over the Volcano of Water (2019 Jul 29)
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 1:35 pm
by Chris Peterson
Scabulus wrote: ↑Mon Jul 29, 2019 12:17 pm
What does any of this have to do with space? Is there a connection to the science of lightening that relates to planetary exploration? If so, then say so. If not, then post on Instagram or flickr.
Lightning is an atmospheric phenomenon, which has been observed to occur not just on Earth, but on other planets as well. We are fortunate to be able to observe it here, much more conveniently than on those other planets.
Re: APOD: Lightning over the Volcano of Water (2019 Jul 29)
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 2:00 pm
by BDanielMayfield
orin stepanek wrote: ↑Mon Jul 29, 2019 11:19 am
De58te wrote: ↑Mon Jul 29, 2019 7:06 am
Maybe I'm wrong, but wouldn't a volcano of water be called a geyser?
I believe it is the name of the Mountain!
Yes. The link to its name tells that is came to be called that after a lahar (volcanic mudslide) flooded a nearby city.
Re: APOD: Lightning over the Volcano of Water (2019 Jul 29)
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 8:15 pm
by hypatia
Can anybody tell me what the turquoise cylindrical object to the right of the volcano is (peeking out of the cloud)? Could it be a UFO?
![🛸](//cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/twitter/twemoji@latest/assets/svg/1f6f8.svg)
Re: APOD: Lightning over the Volcano of Water (2019 Jul 29)
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 9:53 pm
by BDanielMayfield
hypatia wrote: ↑Mon Jul 29, 2019 8:15 pm
Can anybody tell me what the turquoise cylindrical object to the right of the volcano is (peeking out of the cloud)? Could it be a UFO?
It is a gap underneath the cloud deck showing a small area of dusk or dawn sky. No need to suspect aliens.
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
Re: APOD: Lightning over the Volcano of Water (2019 Jul 29)
Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2019 10:20 pm
by orin stepanek
Chris Peterson wrote: ↑Mon Jul 29, 2019 1:35 pm
Scabulus wrote: ↑Mon Jul 29, 2019 12:17 pm
What does any of this have to do with space? Is there a connection to the science of lightening that relates to planetary exploration? If so, then say so. If not, then post on Instagram or flickr.
Lightning is an atmospheric phenomenon, which has been observed to occur not just on Earth, but on other planets as well. We are fortunate to be able to observe it here, much more conveniently than on those other planets.
++
![thumb up :thumb_up:](./images/smilies/thumb_up.gif)
Re: APOD: Lightning over the Volcano of Water (2019 Jul 29)
Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 1:51 am
by MarkBour
What a fantastic image! That is an incredible, arborescent bolt. Also, there is a filament to the left of the main branches that does not visibly connect to the rest, and a visibly separate, but probably connected beautiful, long extension to the right. Zeus could not have done this without a few helpers! Who was it, I wonder, that managed to draw the wrath of several deities at once? I'm really glad I was not at the top of that volcano just then. But I'm glad that Sergio Montufar was able to capture this, and that the APOD editors brought it to us for our viewing pleasure.
I see a predictable "Not astronomical" complaint, so here's an astronomy question for those. What (and where and when) was the strongest electrostatic discharge event ever registered in our observations of the universe to date?
Re: APOD: Lightning over the Volcano of Water (2019 Jul 29)
Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 3:17 am
by geckzilla
Scabulus wrote: ↑Mon Jul 29, 2019 12:17 pm
What does any of this have to do with space? Is there a connection to the science of lightening that relates to planetary exploration? If so, then say so. If not, then post on Instagram or flickr.
The reason these get posted is because they attract more people from different backgrounds to APOD, who will then hopefully become subsequently attracted to astronomy, which is the purpose of APOD. So to you, this has no purpose, but to the APOD editor who put it up, that was the purpose. Maybe understanding it better will change your mind.
Re: APOD: Lightning over the Volcano of Water (2019 Jul 29)
Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2019 3:40 am
by neufer
geckzilla wrote: ↑Tue Jul 30, 2019 3:17 am
Scabulus wrote: ↑Mon Jul 29, 2019 12:17 pm
What does any of this have to do with space? Is there a connection to the science of lightening that relates to planetary exploration? If so, then say so. If not, then post on Instagram or flickr.
The reason these get posted is because they attract more people from different backgrounds to APOD, who will then hopefully become subsequently attracted to astronomy, which is the purpose of APOD. So to you, this has no purpose, but to the APOD editor who put it up, that was the purpose. Maybe understanding it better will change your mind.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_drug_theory wrote:
<<Gateway drug theory (alternatively, stepping-stone theory, escalation hypothesis, or progression hypothesis) is a comprehensive catchphrase for the theory that the use of a psychoactive drug can be coupled to an increased probability of the use of further drugs. Possible causes are biological alterations in the brain due to the earlier drug and similar attitudes of users across different drugs.>>