Treetops glowing during storms captured on film for first time

4 hours ago

Penn State researchers traveled along the U.S. eastern coast in a modified van equipped with a custom weather device to study Florida's summer thunderstorms.
The team aimed to capture corona discharges, a hypothesized phenomenon where tiny electrical pulses cause tree canopies to glow in UV light during storms, previously undocumented in nature.
Despite initial challenges with fleeting storms in Florida, they successfully observed corona discharges on sweetgum and loblolly pine trees during a sustained storm near Interstate 95 in North Carolina.
The findings, published in Geophysical Research Letters, represent the first direct observation of natural corona discharges, confirming a theory held for over 70 years.

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