{ "id": 11131, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11131/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Fermi Improves Its Vision For Thunderstorm Gamma-ray Flashes", "description": "Thanks to improved data analysis techniques and a new operating mode, the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) aboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is now 10 times better at catching the brief outbursts of high-energy light mysteriously produced above thunderstorms. The outbursts, known as terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs), last only a few thousandths of a second, but their gamma rays rank among the highest-energy light that naturally occurs on Earth. The enhanced GBM discovery rate helped scientists show most TGFs also generate a strong burst of radio waves, a finding that will change how scientists study this poorly understood phenomenon.Lightning emits a broad range of very low frequency (VLF) radio waves, often heard as pop-and-crackle static when listening to AM radio. The World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN), a research collaboration operated by the University of Washington in Seattle, routinely detects these radio signals and uses them to pinpoint the location of lightning discharges anywhere on the globe to within about 12 miles (20 km).Scientists have known for a long time TGFs were linked to strong VLF bursts, but they interpreted these signals as originating from lightning strokes somehow associated with the gamma-ray emission.\"Instead, we've found when a strong radio burst occurs almost simultaneously with a TGF, the radio emission is coming from the TGF itself,\" said co-author Michael Briggs, a member of the GBM team. The researchers identified much weaker radio bursts that occur up to several thousandths of a second before or after a TGF. They interpret these signals as intracloud lightning strokes related to, but not created by, the gamma-ray flash. Scientists suspect TGFs arise from the strong electric fields near the tops of thunderstorms. Under certain conditions, the field becomes strong enough that it drives a high-speed upward avalanche of electrons, which give off gamma rays when they are deflected by air molecules. \"What's new here is that the same electron avalanche likely responsible for the gamma-ray emission also produces the VLF radio bursts, and this gives us a new window into understanding this phenomenon,\" said Joseph Dwyer, a physics professor at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla., and a member of the study team. Because the WWLLN radio positions are far more precise than those based on Fermi's orbit, scientists will develop a much clearer picture of where TGFs occur and perhaps which types of thunderstorms tend to produce them.Watch this video on YouTube. || ", "release_date": "2012-12-06T10:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:52:32.658099-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 471001, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011100/a011131/Fermi_TGF_Still_1.jpg", "filename": "Fermi_TGF_Still_1.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Lightning in the clouds is directly linked to events that produce some of the highest-energy light naturally made on Earth: terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs). An instrument aboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope was recently fine-tuned to better catch TGFs, and this allowed scientists to discover that TGFs emit radio waves, too.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 }, "main_video": { "id": 471002, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011100/a011131/11131_TGF_Radio_H264_Best_1280x720_59.94.mov", "filename": "11131_TGF_Radio_H264_Best_1280x720_59.94.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Lightning in the clouds is directly linked to events that produce some of the highest-energy light naturally made on Earth: terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs). An instrument aboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope was recently fine-tuned to better catch TGFs, and this allowed scientists to discover that TGFs emit radio waves, too.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 }, "main_credits": {}, "progress": "Complete", "media_groups": [ { "id": 347394, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11131/#media_group_347394", "widget": "Basic text with HTML", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Thanks to improved data analysis techniques and a new operating mode, the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) aboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is now 10 times better at catching the brief outbursts of high-energy light mysteriously produced above thunderstorms.

The outbursts, known as terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs), last only a few thousandths of a second, but their gamma rays rank among the highest-energy light that naturally occurs on Earth. The enhanced GBM discovery rate helped scientists show most TGFs also generate a strong burst of radio waves, a finding that will change how scientists study this poorly understood phenomenon.

Lightning emits a broad range of very low frequency (VLF) radio waves, often heard as pop-and-crackle static when listening to AM radio. The World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN), a research collaboration operated by the University of Washington in Seattle, routinely detects these radio signals and uses them to pinpoint the location of lightning discharges anywhere on the globe to within about 12 miles (20 km).

Scientists have known for a long time TGFs were linked to strong VLF bursts, but they interpreted these signals as originating from lightning strokes somehow associated with the gamma-ray emission.

\"Instead, we've found when a strong radio burst occurs almost simultaneously with a TGF, the radio emission is coming from the TGF itself,\" said co-author Michael Briggs, a member of the GBM team.

The researchers identified much weaker radio bursts that occur up to several thousandths of a second before or after a TGF. They interpret these signals as intracloud lightning strokes related to, but not created by, the gamma-ray flash.

Scientists suspect TGFs arise from the strong electric fields near the tops of thunderstorms. Under certain conditions, the field becomes strong enough that it drives a high-speed upward avalanche of electrons, which give off gamma rays when they are deflected by air molecules.

\"What's new here is that the same electron avalanche likely responsible for the gamma-ray emission also produces the VLF radio bursts, and this gives us a new window into understanding this phenomenon,\" said Joseph Dwyer, a physics professor at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla., and a member of the study team.

Because the WWLLN radio positions are far more precise than those based on Fermi's orbit, scientists will develop a much clearer picture of where TGFs occur and perhaps which types of thunderstorms tend to produce them.

Watch this video on YouTube.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 347395, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11131/#media_group_347395", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Lightning in the clouds is directly linked to events that produce some of the highest-energy light naturally made on Earth: terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs). An instrument aboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope was recently fine-tuned to better catch TGFs, and this allowed scientists to discover that TGFs emit radio waves, too.

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Credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann", "items": [ { "id": 314479, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 471020, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011100/a011131/fermi_in_fairing_uncropped.jpg", "filename": "fermi_in_fairing_uncropped.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Thanks to improved data analysis techniques and a new operating mode, the Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM) aboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is now 10 times better at catching the brief outbursts of high-energy light mysteriously produced above thunderstorms. The outbursts, known as terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs), last only a few thousandths of a second, but their gamma rays rank among the highest-energy light that naturally occurs on Earth. The enhanced GBM discovery rate helped scientists show most TGFs also generate a strong burst of radio waves, a finding that will change how scientists study this poorly understood phenomenon.Lightning emits a broad range of very low frequency (VLF) radio waves, often heard as pop-and-crackle static when listening to AM radio. 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Scientists suspect TGFs arise from the strong electric fields near the tops of thunderstorms. Under certain conditions, the field becomes strong enough that it drives a high-speed upward avalanche of electrons, which give off gamma rays when they are deflected by air molecules. \"What's new here is that the same electron avalanche likely responsible for the gamma-ray emission also produces the VLF radio bursts, and this gives us a new window into understanding this phenomenon,\" said Joseph Dwyer, a physics professor at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Fla., and a member of the study team. Because the WWLLN radio positions are far more precise than those based on Fermi's orbit, scientists will develop a much clearer picture of where TGFs occur and perhaps which types of thunderstorms tend to produce them.Watch this video on YouTube.", "width": 7470, "height": 5000, "pixels": 37350000 } }, { "id": 314480, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 471021, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011100/a011131/fermi_in_fairing_uncropped_web.jpg", "filename": "fermi_in_fairing_uncropped_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This image, taken in May 2008 as the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope was being readied for launch, highlights the detectors of the spacecraft's Gamma-ray Burst Monitor (GBM). The GBM is an array of 14 crystal detectors designed for transient lower-energy gamma-ray outbursts, such as TGFs. 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Using data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and ground-based lightning detection networks, scientists tracking these fleeting outbursts are beginning to learn more about how conditions in hurricanes, typhoons and other tropical weather systems set the stage for TGFs. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: Glacial Fields and The Piper from Killer Tracks.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || Bolaven_Still.jpg (1920x1080) [449.4 KB] || Bolaven_Still_print.jpg (1024x576) [157.2 KB] || Bolaven_Still_searchweb.png (320x180) [102.2 KB] || Bolaven_Still_thm.png (80x40) [6.9 KB] || 12452_Fermi_TGF_Tropical_Storm_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [2.9 GB] || 12452_Fermi_TGF_Tropical_Storm_FINAL_youtube_hq.mov (1920x1080) [899.5 MB] || 12452_Fermi_TGF_Tropical_Storm-1080.mov (1920x1080) [330.1 MB] || 12452_Fermi_TGF_Tropical_Storm-1080_Good.m4v (1920x1080) [219.8 MB] || 12452_Fermi_TGF_Tropical_Storm-compatible.m4v (960x540) [86.1 MB] || 12452_Fermi_TGF_Tropical_Storm_FINAL_appletv.m4v (1280x720) [115.9 MB] || WMV_12452_Fermi_TGF_Tropical_Storm_FINAL_HD.wmv (1920x1080) [223.9 MB] || 12452_Fermi_TGF_Tropical_Storm-compatible.webm (960x540) [24.1 MB] || 12452_Fermi_TGF_Tropical_Storm_FINAL_appletv_subtitles.m4v (1280x720) [116.0 MB] || Fermi_TGF_Tropical_Storm_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [3.6 KB] || Fermi_TGF_Tropical_Storm_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [3.6 KB] || ", "release_date": "2017-04-24T13:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:47:44.870043-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 417754, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012400/a012452/Bolaven_Still.jpg", "filename": "Bolaven_Still.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Storm clouds produce some of the highest-energy light naturally made on Earth: terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs). Using data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope and ground-based lightning detection networks, scientists tracking these fleeting outbursts are beginning to learn more about how conditions in hurricanes, typhoons and other tropical weather systems set the stage for TGFs. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight CenterMusic: Glacial Fields and The Piper from Killer Tracks.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 10278, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10278/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "NASA's Fermi Helps Scientists Study Gamma-ray Thunderstorms", "description": "New research merging Fermi data with information from ground-based radar and lightning networks shows that terrestrial gamma-ray flashes arise from an unexpected diversity of storms and may be more common than currently thought. Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. 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Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } }, { "id": 10706, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10706/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes Create Antimatter", "description": "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.For additional animations showing bremsstrahlung and pair production gamma ray reactions, go here.For more visualizations showing Fermi's TGF detections, go to#3747, #3748, and #3756.For animations of the Fermi spacecraft and matter/antimatter, go to#10707 and #10651. || ", "release_date": "2011-01-10T16:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:53:55.719114-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 488484, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010700/a010706/TGF_Still_1280x720.jpg", "filename": "TGF_Still_1280x720.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "TGFs produce high-energy electrons and positrons. Moving near the speed of light, these particles travel into space along Earth's magnetic field.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }