Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), fleeting events that last from less than a second to several minutes, are detected by orbiting observatories that can pick up their high energy radiation. Thirteen years ago, however, astronomers discovered a longer-last…
Anyone who has heard a radio crackle during a storm knows lightning emits radio signals. But in a series of unique experiments that involved firing wire-trailing rockets into storm clouds, a team of Florida researchers has found that “triggered” lightning also emits waves of energy much higher up the frequency scale – X-rays, or possibly gamma rays or relativistic electrons.