Rare ‘dark lightning’ might briefly touch passengers when flying
Gamma-ray blasts from thunderstorms are the most energetic natural discharges on Earth
![image of pink dots representing Gamma Rays passing through Earth's atmosphere](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/010623_NO_dark-lightning_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
Dark lightning — gamma-rays (pink in this simulated image) that result from waves of electrons (one shown, yellow) colliding with atoms in the air — may sporadically strike airplanes and briefly expose passengers to radiation, new research suggests.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, J. Dwyer/Florida Institute of Technology