Fermi Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flash (TGF) Animations

  • Released Monday, January 10, 2011
  • Updated Friday, October 23, 2015 at 4:48PM
  • ID: 10707
NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has detected beams of antimatter launched by thunderstorms. Acting like enormous particle accelerators, the storms can emit gamma-ray flashes, called TGFs, and high-energy electrons and positrons. Scientists now think that most TGFs produce particle beams and antimatter.

Animation of Fermi's position relative to the Earth when it spotted the TGF in Africa.

Animation of cloud of electrons and positrons following a magnetic field line and striking the Fermi spacecraft, causing it to emit gamma rays. The cloud then returns along the same line and strikes the spacecraft again.

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NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

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