Thunderstorms in the tropics are literally radioactive, according to a team of researchers that recently used a retrofitted spy plane to survey the phenomena. The team’s research was published in two ...

‘There is way more going on in thunderstorms than we ever imagined.’ By Andrew Paul Published Oct 2, 2024 11:00 AM EDT Get the Popular Science daily newsletter ...

NASA sent a retired Cold War spy plane on a storm-chasing mission, and it discovered that big thunderstorms are very radioactive. Large thunderstorms produce so much gamma radiation that the clouds ...

Above the cloud tops, thunderstorms throb with a complex, frenetic light show of high-energy radiation. A view from a retrofitted spy plane soaring at 20 kilometers up revealed storms glowing and ...

An artist's rendering of gamma-ray glows observed during the research, with gamma rays colored purple for emphasis NASA / ALOFT mission Two hundred and seventy-two years after that June afternoon when ...

This is your captain speaking: When thunderstorms are in the forecast, you may need to buckle those seatbelts a lot sooner than you’re used to. By Katherine Kornei Rattled nerves and spilled drinks ...